A plane in Australia was forced to turn around just four minutes into its flight after passengers heard a ‘loud bang’ and felt a strong jolt during takeoff.
The Qantas flight from Sydney to Brisbane earlier today had to make an emergency landing after suffering an engine failure as it left the ground.
After arriving back at the airport in Sydney, it also sparked a grass fire near the third runway that led to delays on several other flights.
Richard Tobiano, the chief pilot for Qantas, said the noise heard by the plane’s 170 passengers was ‘was not an engine explosion’ and engineers would ‘investigate exactly what has happened’.
ABC News reporter Mark Willacy, who was on board the flight, told the broadcaster that as they took off ‘there was a large bang and a really jolting shudder went through the plane’.
He added: ‘It was a real struggle to get airborne and it was clear to everyone – the crew and the passengers – that something was badly wrong at that point.’
The journalist said the aircraft ‘really laboured’ as it headed north, before looping back over Sydney and the ocean.
After between 10 and 15 minutes, the pilot spoke to passengers to explain there was an issue with the right engine but assured them ‘everything was under control at that point’.
Footage from the airport after the landing show masses of white smoke coming from a grassy area.
Captain Steve Cornell, the safety and technical director for the AIPA pilots’ union, said in a statement the crew had handled the situation with the ‘utmost professionalism’.
He added: ‘In this instance the crew displayed remarkable skill, expertise and composure in returning safely to Sydney and protecting everyone onboard.
‘This incident demonstrates the value of having two well-trained and well-rested pilots on the flight deck as the most essential safety feature in aviation.’
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