Passengers ‘shaken’ after Qantas plane experienced engine failure

Pilots had to make an emergency landing due to engine failure on a Quantas plane taking off from an airport in Sydney. Australia.

Passengers heard a loud explosion shortly after Flight 520. Sydney with brisbane The airline said in a statement that it left the runway on Friday afternoon, adding that it was not an explosion.

The statement stated that engineers concluded after a preliminary examination and confirmed that the Boeing 737 jet had a contained engine failure.

“There was a really jarring chill on the plane,” said passenger Mark Willacy, a journalist for Australian broadcaster ABC News. told about his networkHe added that he heard a loud explosion right after the jet took off from Sydney Airport.

“We knew right away something was wrong,” he added. “That big bang and shudder as the wheels left the ground was like nothing I’ve ever felt.”

He said the twin jet was then “really struggling” to gain altitude, adding that “the single engine was really pumping out a lot of power to get us into the air.”

The jet took off shortly after 12:35 a.m. local time (8:35 p.m. ET Thursday), according to data from flight tracking platform FlightRadar24.

Qantas’ chief pilot, Captain Richard Tobiano, said in a statement: “The plane landed safely at Sydney Airport after circling for a short time.”

Willacy said the plane eventually “banked a lot” as it turned to prepare to land in Sydney. “It didn’t feel as stable as you would normally feel when making these turns,” he added.

In a separate statement, Sydney Airport said “the aircraft’s departure coincided with a grass fire on the eastern side of the airport’s parallel runway.”

In the statement, it was stated that the fire crews took the situation under control and it was stated that “it is not clear at this stage whether the two incidents are related and the investigations are continuing.”

It’s unclear whether this made it difficult for Flight 520 to land, but the airport said it returned to full operations at 5 p.m. local time (1 a.m. ET Friday).