Flight QF520 was bound for Brisbane when it experienced a contained engine failure after take-off from Sydney Airport on Friday afternoon.
Passengers reported hearing a loud bang from one of the aircraft’s two engines.
After circling for a short period of time, the aircraft landed safely at Sydney Airport.
“Our pilots are highly trained to handle situations like this and the aircraft landed safely after the appropriate procedures were conducted,” said Qantas Chief Pilot Captain Richard Tobiano.
“We understand this would have been a distressing experience for customers and we will be contacting all customers this afternoon to provide support.
“We will also be conducting an investigation into what caused the engine issue.”
A grass fire ignited alongside the runway however it has not been confirmed whether the two incidents are linked.
BREAKING: A Qantas flight bound for Brisbane has made an emergency landing at Sydney Airport due to suspected engine failure after a grass fire ignited next to the runway. #sydneyairport #qantas #7NEWS pic.twitter.com/qsB5UUcvby
— 7NEWS Melbourne (@7NewsMelbourne) November 8, 2024
Qantas engineers conducted a preliminary inspection of the engine following the incident and confirmed it was a contained engine failure.
“While customers would have heard a loud bang, there was not an explosion,” the airline said in a statement.
Customers are being moved onto other flights this afternoon.
A contained engine failure is when components that disintegrate or separate inside the engine remain safely within the engine case, or exit the engine case via the tail pipe as intended by the engineers, according to aviation safety knowledge website SKYbrary.
An uncontained engine failure can be much more serious, SKYbrary says, because engine debris exits it at high speeds in other directions, posing potential danger to the pressurised aircraft structure, adjacent engines, the integrity of the flight control system and, possibly, directly to the aircraft occupants.
