The Fratellis frontman Jon Fratelli says he may never fly again after a Qantas jet from Heathrow to Melbourne was forced to make an emergency landing.

Fratelli, who is due to catch the same flight today (July 28th), said reports of last weeks incident had reignited his fear of flying.

The 747-400 plane was forced to land in the Philippines last Friday (July 25th). A car-sized hole was discovered in its fuselage.

“I might just decide never to fly again. I was getting better. The phobia wasn’t so bad, then pieces of aeroplanes rip off and they show it all over the news and freak you out,” Fratelli told the Sun.

“What’s worse is it was a Qantas plane flying from London to Australia, which is what I’m getting on on Monday. I don’t need it, man. I could really do without seeing that kind of thing.”

Fratelli added that his “life would be so much easier if I never had to get on a plane ever again." "It’s been on my mind all the time," he added.

Ongoing investigations into the possible cause of the hole are currently centred on an oxygen tank, which appears to have exploded during the flight.

(by Jason Gregory)