‘One of the engines appeared to have gone’: Qantas drama at Sydney Airport

A Qantas plane has made an emergency landing after an engine failure that sparked a grass fire at Sydney Airport.

Flight QF520 was taking off on its way to Brisbane when passengers heard a loud bang, with the aircraft forced to circle the airport before returning.

Today show producer Georgina Lewis was on board the Boeing 737 and said the pilot told passengers the right engine exploded during take-off.

“We were taking off and we heard a bang ... one of the engines appeared to have gone,” she told Nine News.

“We were circling to the south of Sydney over the water for quite some time until we were able to land, it appears on one engine, safely – with a lot of cheering from on board.”

Another passenger, Wayne Hylard, told Nine News: “Everybody seemed calm. Nobody seemed to panic.”

The plane was surrounded by firefighters when it landed, and the 170-odd passengers were escorted back to the airport safely. They were all placed on a later flight.

Qantas engineers confirmed the incident was a contained engine failure, meaning it did not spread to the rest of the aircraft.

Airservices Australia said the engine failure sparked the grass fire next to the third runway, with smoke billowing into the air. The fire was quickly extinguished by the Aviation Rescue Firefighting Service.

The grassfire at Sydney airport caused some diversions and cancellations.Credit: X/@coffeepakemilk

Qantas chief pilot Captain Richard Tobiano acknowledged the emergency would have been distressing for passengers, and said the airline would investigate what caused the engine failure.

“Our pilots are highly trained to handle situations like this, and the aircraft landed safely after the appropriate procedures were conducted,” he said.

A Sydney Airport spokesperson said the plane landed just after 1pm.

The grass fire caused flight delays averaging 45 minutes and a number of diversions. Eleven domestic flights departing from Sydney Airport were cancelled.

FlightAware tracked the plane as it returned to Sydney Airport. Credit:

“Passengers who are travelling today are also encouraged to check with their airline regarding the status of their flight, or via the online flight information boards on Sydney Airport’s website,” the spokesperson said.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau has begun an investigation into the engine failure.

Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.