The Qantas pilot Capt John Francis Bartels, right, looks at the hole of the Melbourne-bound Boeing 747 after it made an emergency landing at the international airport in Manila.
The Qantas pilot Capt John Francis Bartels, right, looks at the hole of the Melbourne-bound Boeing 747 after it made an emergency landing at the international airport in Manila.

Asia

Exploding oxygen tank pierced Qantas door

Investigators confirm shrapnel from an oxygen cylinder explosion aboard a Qantas plane sheared off part of a door handle.

CANBERRA // An air safety investigator says it appears shrapnel from an oxygen cylinder explosion aboard a packed Qantas jetliner entered the passenger cabin and sheared off part of a door handle. The explosion last Friday during a flight from London to Melbourne blew a large hole in the side of the Boeing 747-400, causing the pilots to rapidly descend 6,000 metres before stabilising and then make an emergency landing in the Philippines.

The three-metre hole was on the plane's right side near the wing. No one was injured but the Manila International Airport Authority deputy manager for operations, Octavio Lina, said the cabin's floor gave way. The cargo underneath was exposed and part of the ceiling collapsed. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau official Julian Walsh says part of the oxygen tank struck the door handle, sheared off part of it and knocked it halfway out of position. But he says "there was never any danger of the door opening" because it is designed never to be opened while the plane is in the air.

*AP

Museum of the Future in numbers
  •  78 metres is the height of the museum
  •  30,000 square metres is its total area
  •  17,000 square metres is the length of the stainless steel facade
  •  14 kilometres is the length of LED lights used on the facade
  •  1,024 individual pieces make up the exterior 
  •  7 floors in all, with one for administrative offices
  •  2,400 diagonally intersecting steel members frame the torus shape
  •  100 species of trees and plants dot the gardens
  •  Dh145 is the price of a ticket
Skewed figures

In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458. 

Specs

Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request

The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Power: 510hp at 9,000rpm
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
Price: From Dh801,800