Emirates A380 “flew 14 hours” with massive hole

At first passengers believed the plane suffered difficulties upon landing in Brisbane, but now it seems the Emirates A380 flew 14 hours with the massive hole

Passengers disembarked the airline after noticing the sound of an explosion mid-flight.

They had alerted crew during the flight, who were in contact with the flight crew.

One of the passengers on board has since taken to Twitter to describe the “terrifying” incident, which took place “during cruise.” 

“Was absolutely terrifying at first and the cabin crew knew something serious may have happened – were immediately in contact with the cockpit,” wrote Andrew Morris, an English professor at the UK’s Loughborough University.

“Shortly after, they resumed as normal. Their calm demeanor was reassuring — they knew it was not catastrophic.”

But no one knew exactly how long the plane was airborne with the massive hole in the side.

Landing view

The captain telegraphed ahead to Brisbane airport, and emergency services met the aircraft, which landed safely.

As passengers disembarked, they were shocked to see the size of the hole, which had been punctured by the landing gear.

Emirates later released a statement stressing that the rupture did not impact “the fuselage, frame or structure of the aircraft.”

“Our flight EK430 flying from Dubai to Brisbane on July 1 experienced a technical fault,” reads the statement. 

“One of the aircraft’s 22 tires ruptured during cruise, causing damage to a small portion of the aerodynamic fairing, which is an outer panel or the skin of the aircraft.”

“The fairing has been completely replaced, checked and cleared by engineers, Airbus and all relevant authorities,” adds Emirates.

“The safety of our passengers and crew has always been our top priority.”