Margaret Wright, 46, from Ashford Close, was sleeping on board Qantas flight QF30 from London to Melbourne on Friday.

The B747-400 plane had only just left Hong Kong when the cabin pressure dropped and oxygen masks fell.

The plane plunged from 29,000ft to 10,000ft in five-and-a-half minutes and made an emergency landing in Manila.

All 346 passengers and 19 crew escaped without injury.
Mrs Wright's husband Tim , a plumber, said: 'I had a text message from Margaret saying there was a bit of trouble and she was in Manila.

'I felt very shocked but relieved that everyone was alright.

'I spoke to her on Saturday and it was nice to hear her voice.'

Mrs Wright told her husband she thought 'the end had come' when a loud bang woke her up.

She said a few people on the plane screamed, most of them children not wanting to put masks on.

Mr Wright said: 'There was panicking for a while but it levelled out.

'It all hit home for me when people started ringing to ask if she was on the flight.'

Mrs Wright, went on to Melbourne, Australia, on a replacement plane.
She is now enjoying a holiday with relations and plans to visit the Great Barrier Reef.

Mr Wright added: 'Her last text message told me she was OK but still in a bit of shock.

'She had got her luggage back and she was looking forward to the next three weeks.

'She is quite a tough girl.'

Mrs Wright's mother Bridget Putland told the Express of her joy at finding her daughter was safe.

She said: 'We had a phone call from Margaret, my other daughter Roxy and son-in-law Derek.

'They spoke to my husband Ronald and I from the Phillippines and said, "Have you heard the news?"

'We put the TV on and that is when we saw it.'

Mrs Putland thought she caught a glimpse of the 'backs' of the trio on the televison news coverage.

She added: 'I am very very thankful.

'There is a God up there looking after us.'

Qantas engineers are inspecting the cause of the incident.