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Qatar Airways plane is forced to return to Brisbane and make an emergency landing after a passenger saw something ‘dangling’ from the wing
- Qatar Airlines flight passengers see something on the wing
- Shown Pilot Reversing Plane Shortly After Takeoff
- Brisbane airport confirms the plane had a “mechanical problem”
A Qatar Airlines flight heading to Doha from Brisbane was forced to return to the airport for an emergency landing after passengers saw something dangling from the wing.
The Boeing 777 took off from Brisbane Airport at 11:11 p.m. local time on December 31 for the 14-hour journey.
However, just 15 minutes into its journey, the plane stopped climbing at 10,000ft and headed out to sea to begin a holding pattern off the Queensland coast.
The plane dumped most of its fuel off the coast before landing back at Brisbane airport shortly after 12:30am on January 1, meaning hundreds of passengers spent New Year’s Eve in a circling plane
A passenger on the flight, designated QR899, revealed on Twitter why the plane was forced to reverse.
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“Passengers noticed something white hanging/exiting from right wing,” he tweeted.
The pilot came and peered through the passenger windows, shining a flashlight into the wing.
“The seatbelt sign never went off, and we headed back to Brisbane.”
The passenger said he didn’t see the white thing himself, but the flight attendants told him so.
Flight Radar 24, which tracks aircraft around the world, showed the Qatar Airways plane doing a figure eight over water.
Twitter user Jesee described the incident that apparently caused the plane to return to the airport from which it took off.
It is standard procedure for a long-haul flight to unfuel and lighten the aircraft before an emergency landing.
A Brisbane airport spokesperson confirmed that the plane turned around due to a problem with the aircraft.
Qatar Airways told the aviation website Paddle your own Kanoo that the plane landed safely after suffering ‘a technical problem’.
“Passengers are being assisted by ground services including providing hotel accommodation before resuming their journey as soon as possible and we apologize for any inconvenience caused,” the statement said.
The Doha-bound flight aborted its planned journey early and began a holding pattern to unload fuel for the emergency landing.