- Tarmac shredded as Qantas plane took off
- Perth airport undertaking urgent repairs
Maintenance staff at one of Australia’s busiest airports have been forced to conduct hasty repairs to the main runway after a Qantas plane ripped up parts of the tarmac during takeoff.
Extraordinary footage has emerged of the moment Qantas flight QF71 to Singapore left behind a trail of destruction as the plane departed Perth Airport at about 12.15pm on Sunday.
As the aircraft was captured accelerating along the runway, fragments of the runway can be seen being ripped up and thrown into the air some distance behind the plane.
Aero photographer Mitchell, who goes by the YPPH Plane Guy, happened to be at the airport to capture the moment the pavement was sprayed behind the plane.
He explained the plane had its brakes on as it increased power.
‘(That) isn’t the situation with lots of departures, which probably contributed to the amount of power on the particular area,’ he said.
He said the spot is one of the freshest areas of the ongoing runway renewals.
‘The issue caused aircraft to have to go shorter to depart, and causing a 747 freighter to divert to Adelaide as there wasn’t a big enough runway to land at,’ the photographer added.
Astonishing footage showed airborne fragments of runway as the Qantas flight QF71 to Singapore took off
The airport confirmed that runway three was only partially operational for the rest of the afternoon and evening, just hours before the start of another working week.
‘Earlier today, pavement damage on the Main Runway was identified in a safety inspection following a departing aircraft,’ an airport spokesperson told the West Australian.
‘Pavement maintenance works are now underway.’
Neither Qantas nor Perth Airport have been able to identify the exact cause of the damage.
It’s understood the tarmac had been freshly laid, with planned, daily pavement work extending into November.
Perth Airport staff hastily rushed to make urgent tarmac repairs to the main runway
Seven News reported that no arriving planes could land on the damaged runway, which was used for a limited amount of departing flights taking off.
It’s understood the tarmac issue didn’t caused any flight delays on Sunday night.
Daily Mail Australia contacted Qantas and Perth Airport for comment.
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