The crew of a Southwest Airlines 737-300 safely made an emergency landing after a hole opened in the fuselage at about 34,000 feet duringa flight from Nashville to Baltimore not long ago. It was not immediately clearwhat caused the hole, about one footsquare, in the upper fuselage near thevertical stabiliser.

Passenger Michael Cunningham told the NBC television network’s “Today” show there was no panic during the incident. “Everybody just calmly … figured out what was going on,” he said, and donned their oxygen masks as the cabin depressurised. Wow, they must all be rocket scientists….err, well at least aeronautical engineers.

“After we landed in Charleston [West Virginia], the pilot came out and looked up through the hole, and everybody applauded, shook his hand, a couple of people gave him hugs,” Cunningham said. Only in America…I mean really, were hugs actually necessary?

And while the passengers obviously know what was going on the National Transport Safety Board apparently does not…they’re still investigating.