The pilot then tells passengers on the Airbus A380 that there is a "checklist we have to perform."  "I'm sure you are aware we are not proceeding to Sydney at this stage," the pilot says. "We're making a left turn now to track back towards Singapore and as we progress with this we'll keep you [informed] but at this stage everything is secure. [The] aircraft is flying safely and we'll get back to you very shortly with further information. Thank you for your patience."  The video is shot facing out the passenger's window and focuses squarely, without panning, at the wing of the plane. Damage to the wing is visible in a video shot by a passenger.  Volume is low, but it sounds as if conversation on the plane continued as normal, suggesting no one realized the gravity of what had happened.  The cowling, or covering, on the engine reportedly fell off about 15 minutes into the flight.  There were 440 passengers and 26 crew members aboard the flight which left Singapore bound for Sydney, Australia. The plane returned to Singapore. Everyone was safe.  Passengers later described hearing alarming sounds while in the air. Meg Graham said she heard a loud bang within minutes of the plane departing.  "And then another bang," she said.  Ulf Waschbusch said the crew kept passengers apprised of what was happening.  "We all stayed pretty calm," he said. "It was an almost eerie calm."  Qantas, Australia's national airline, has grounded its Airbus A380 fleet. Flights of the twin-deck planes -- the world's largest airliners -- will remain suspended until an investigation into Thursday's incident is complete, said airline CEO Alan Joyce.  "As long as it takes," Joyce said, responding to a reporter's question about how the suspension would last. "We are being very cautious until we know exactly what caused this."  Qantas now has six A380s in its fleet of 191 planes. Airbus will at some point deliver another 14, the airline said.
After part of an engine fell off a Qantas plane in mid-flight Thursday, a passenger shooting a personal video recorded the pilot announcing, calmly, that the flight was experiencing a "technical