A New Year's Eve flight from Brisbane to Doha was forced to make an emergency landing after passengers reportedly saw "something hanging from the wing" shortly after takeoff in the south-east Queensland city.
Qatar Airways flight QR899 took off from Brisbane International Airport just after 11pm on December 31, on a routine but lengthy 14-hour flight to Doha.
But the pilot of the 14-year-old Boeing 777-300 stopped the climb at just 10,000 feet and went into holding mode near the Gold Coast, according to data from popular flight tracking service Flight Radar 24.
A source quoted by the Flight Emergency account on Twitter said the flight returned to Brisbane "after passengers noticed something hanging from the wing". A "pilot came to the galley for an assessment and decided to return to Brisbane", the account claimed.
The plane remained at 10,000ft as it circled over the Gold and Sunshine Coasts before landing in Brisbane less than two hours later.
Qatar Airways is currently reporting a "delay" in the service but has not yet confirmed when the flight will return to Doha. While there is no curfew in Brisbane, it is likely that crews have timed out and need a break before operating legally again.
A Qatar Airways spokesman said the plane had returned to Brisbane due to a "technical issue".
In an emailed statement, the airline said: “QR899 from Brisbane to Doha has returned to BNE where it landed safely following a technical issue.”
“Passengers are being assisted by ground services which includes providing hotel accommodation before resuming their journey at the earliest opportunity and we apologise for any inconvenience caused.”
Source:
-DailyMail
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