Passengers on a London to Melbourne flight have described their terror after a faulty door "popped" in midair blowing a hole in the fuselage.

Qantas flight QF30, (Boeing 747), with 300 passengers and crew on board, plunged 20,000ft after the faulty door caused an "explosive" depressurisation.

Debra Manchester, a passenger in first class, said there was a "huge bang" and a "massive rush of wind, with debris swirling around the cabin." This is the part when my chest would explode. She continued, "Newspapers and what looked like part of the ceiling flew past me. We didn't know what was happening to the plane. After a while things calmed down and there was a deadly silence."

The passengers praised the actions of the pilot and crew. Mr McClements, 45, said: "The crew were terrific, they were really good, they kept everyone calm and told people what to do and helped people with their masks and things. Their reactions had a very calm effect on the other passengers." I swear these flight attendants have the focus of a group of super solders.

But I digress... please, go on...

"When the crew came off everyone applauded and when the pilot came off he got a round of applause too. The pilot said to us: 'Look, we don't really know what happened. There is a hole in the side of the plane and the cabin depressurised so we had to come down.'" Mazal Tov!

Cant get enough? ABC has passenger footage from the flight.

[TO]