Metal fragments from an oxygen cylinder have been recovered from a Qantas jumbo jet after a mid-air explosion forced it to make an emergency landing in Manila.
The Qantas Boeing 747-400, which made the emergency landing after its fuselage was ripped open by the explosion, remains grounded in a hangar at Manila's international airport.
Investigators combing the plane for clues are focusing on the possibility that an emergency oxygen cylinder caused the explosion.
One of two such cylinders is missing from the plane, which was en route from Hong Kong to Melbourne and had 365 passengers and crew on board when it was forced to land.
An onboard oxygen bottle has never before exploded on a passenger jet in mid-air, airline and air safety officials said today.
Qantas is carrying out urgent inspections of oxygen bottles on its entire Boeing 747 fleet, however, as the investigation into what led to Friday's emergency landing continues.
