A Qantas plane travelling from Townsville to Brisbane made an emergency landing in Rockhampton due to a problem onboard, forcing a rapid descent.
QF1871 was forced to descend more than 20,000 feet in minutes before it continued to fly at 10,000 feet, suggesting a pressurisation issue onboard.
The flight was diverted to Rockhampton, the nearest airport, and requested a priority landing, where it safely landed at 7.16am.
The flight was due to land in Brisbane at 9.00am.
A Qantas spokeswoman said that passengers would be put on flights this morning to Brisbane.
If a plane can’t pressurise, it can cause problems, such as less oxygen for passengers and crew and more pressure on the plane itself while flying.
If pressurisation fails, pilots will often quickly descend to a lower altitude where oxygen levels are safer for breathing.
An investigation into the incident has been launched.
QF1871 was forced to descend more than 20,000 feet in minutes before safely landing in Rockhampton at 7.16am, according to data from FlightAware
The incident occurred just days after a Qantas plane damaged part of the runway during takeoff at Perth Airport.
Footage of Qantas flight QF71, bound for Singapore, captured on Sunday, shows the plane moving along the runway, followed by fragments of the runway being torn up and thrown into the air.
The tarmac had been freshly laid.
‘The incident impacted around 20 metres of pavement and occurred on a 110-metre section which had just been overlaid as part of a planned renewal of the 3440-metre runway,’ a Perth Airport spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia.
‘As this was the first section completed, no other parts of the runway are impacted.
Footage showed airborne fragments of the freshly-laid runway as the Qantas flight QF71 to Singapore took off
Perth Airport staff rushed to make urgent tarmac repairs to the main runway
