The plane’s engine ‘exploded’ shortly after takeoff at Sydney Airport forcing an emergency landing and possibly sparking a grass fire.
It is understood Qantas flight QF520 had just taken off from Sydney to Brisbane just before 1pm when one of its engines failed and passengers heard a loud ‘bang’.
The plane was forced to circle Botany Bay before making an emergency landing with all 174 passengers disembarking safely.
At the same time, a huge grass fire started near the airport’s third runway around Sir Joseph Banks Park. It is not known if the two incidents are related.
Heavy smoke could be seen above the airport as NSW Fire Service crews battled to bring the blaze under control.
All flights in and out of the airport were reportedly halted as fire crews battled the blaze.
A Qantas spokesperson said that ‘engineers have carried out a preliminary inspection of the engine and confirmed that the engine has failed.
“When the customers heard a loud noise, there was no explosion,” he added.
It is understood Qantas flight QF520 had just taken off from Sydney to Brisbane shortly before 1pm when one of its engines failed and passengers heard a loud ‘bang’.
The plane was forced to circle Botany Bay before making an emergency landing with all 174 passengers disembarking safely.
At the same time, a large grass fire started near the airport’s third runway. It is not known if the two incidents are related
Qantas Pilot Captain Richard Tobiano said the plane suffered a ‘suspected engine failure after take-off’.
“Our pilots are highly trained to handle this kind of situation and the plane landed safely after the appropriate procedures were followed,” added Tobiano.
‘We understand this will be a distressing experience for our customers and we will be contacting all customers this evening to offer support.’
A Sydney Airport spokeswoman said ‘the priority is to conduct a full inspection of the parallel runway and return it to service as soon as possible’.
“Sydney Airport’s main runway is operational, but passengers will also have to wait for some delays and we thank everyone for their patience,” he said.
Georgina Lewis, a producer for the Today Show, was one of the passengers on the plane.
‘We had just left when we heard a noise. One of the engines seems to have failed,” he told Channel 9.
‘There was silence on the ship and for a while it felt like we weren’t getting the high ground.
‘There were some worried looks around the cabin.
About ten minutes later, the pilot came to reassure us about safety, explaining that they had a problem with the right engine at takeoff and had to shut it down for safety reasons.
‘I reckon he should have informed everyone on the pitch.
‘So we circled south of Sydney through the water for a while until we finally landed safely in one engine—there was a lot of cheering on board, I can tell you.
‘I’ll be honest-I’m scared of flying, so it wasn’t the most exciting moment when I heard that loud noise.
It is understood that Qantas flight QF520 had just taken off from Sydney to Brisbane when the fire broke out.
Heavy smoke could be seen above the airport as NSW Fire Service crews battled to bring the blaze under control.
‘But I’m just thankful to be back on land. Kudos to Qantas for handling the situation.
A Sydney Airport spokeswoman said the Brisbane-bound flight was forced to make an ’emergency return to Sydney Airport, landing safely just after 1pm’.
“The departure of this aircraft coincided with a grass fire on the east side of the parallel runway of the airport, which was controlled by a team from the Aviation Rescue Fire Fighting Service,” he added.
‘It is unclear at this stage if the two incidents are linked and the investigation is ongoing.’
The spokesman said passengers should wait for the delay while ensuring the runway is safe to continue their flight.
That’s because the airport, and others across the country, were shut down Friday due to a nationwide technology outage.
