Terrifying mid-air emergency on board a Qantas flight as pilots are forced to turn around after a plane wheel EXPLODES on take-off
- Qantas flight was forced to land in Brisbane after one of its tyres burst on take off
- Passengers on board the flight said they heard the tyre explode right on take off
- The under 16s Australian School Boy’s cricket team were among 72 on board
Pilots at the helm of a Qantas flight with 72 passengers on board were forced to turn around after one of the aircraft’s six tyres exploded on take-off.
Flight QF2512 took off from Brisbane Airport on Sunday bound for Mackay when the terrifying mid-air emergency unfolded.
A Qantas spokeswoman told Daily Mail Australia the pilots made the decision to turn back to Brisbane because the airport was better equipped to fix the issues.
A Qantas flight had to make a forced landing after one of its six tyres burst on take-off forcing pilots to abandon the flight
‘The flight returned to Brisbane after take-off due to an issue with one of the tyres and landed normally,’ the spokeswoman said.
‘These aircraft have six tyres and can safely land with a damaged tyre.’
The aircraft had to circle near Sunshine Coast Airport for almost 90 minutes before returning to Brisbane Airport.
There were 72 passengers on board the Q400 plane, including the Under 16s Australian Boy’s Cricket team.
William Salzman, one of the team’s players, told 7NEWS he heard a loud bang as the plane was taking off.
‘I was sitting next to the tyre at the time as we kept going along the runway it started to rip up a bit,’ he said.
A Qantas spokeswoman told Daily Mail Australia the pilots make the decision to turn back to Brisbane because the airport was better equipped to fix the issues
The Qantas spokeswoman said a Q400 plane (pictured) has six tryes and can make a safe landing with just five tyres functioning
One of the pilots was recorded calling in the incident shortly after take-off.
‘We may have done a tyre on take-off if we can get an inspection, thanks,’ he said.
‘There’s rubber all down the left hand side.’
Passenger Shirley Kritzinger told 9 News she heard the bang as the plane picked up speed along the runway.
‘As we were going down the runway there was a loud bang and we almost just took off and we didn’t know what it was,’ she said.
All passengers were put on alternative flights and made it to their destinations before the end of the day, the Qantas spokeswoman said.
The spokeswoman said it was not an emergency landing, which is a specific term in the aviation industry which Sunday’s incident does not apply to.
Passenger Shirley Kritzinger (pictured) said she heard the loud bang as the plane picked up speed along the runway