A fire has broken out near Sydney Airport after an explosion on a Qantas plane, reportedly due to a malfunction with the plane’s engine.
NSW Fire Service crews are responding to the incident and all flights in and out of the airport have reportedly been stopped.
It is understood Qantas flight QF520 had just taken off from Sydney to Brisbane when the fire broke out.
Today Show producer Georgina Lewis, one of the passengers on board the flight, spoke out about the incident.
“We had just taken off when we heard a noise. Apparently one of the engines had failed.
‘There was silence on board and, for a while, it seemed like we weren’t gaining much altitude.
‘There were some worried looks throughout the cabin.
“About ten minutes later, the pilot came to reassure us about safety, explaining that they had had a problem with the right engine on takeoff and had to turn it off for safety reasons.
‘I guess they needed to notify everyone on the ground then.
‘So we circled south of Sydney on the water for quite a while until we were finally able to land safely on one engine; There was much cheering on board, I can assure you.
‘I’ll be honest: I’m afraid of flying, so this wasn’t my happiest moment in the air when I heard that loud bang. But I’m so grateful we’re back on land. “Congratulations to Qantas for their handling of the situation.”
This story is still developing.
This is a breaking story
