Qantas Jet Makes Emergency Landing After Suspected Engine Failure

By Danny Lee

November 07, 2024 at 10:12PM EST

A Boeing Co. 737-838 aircraft operated by Qantas Airways Ltd. taxis on the tarmac at Sydney Airport in Sydney, Australia, on Wednesday, June 23, 2021. While losses at airlines globally from Covid-19 are set to surpass $174 billion by the end of 2021 -- wiping out half a decade of profits -- Qantas has become one of the most financially secure carriers anywhere in the world. Photographer: Brendon Thorne/Bloomberg (Brendon Thorne/Bloomberg)

(Bloomberg) -- Qantas Airways Ltd. said it will investigate the cause of a suspected engine failure that forced an emergency landing of one of its Boeing Co. 737 jets on Friday.

Qantas Flight 520 from Sydney to Brisbane returned to Sydney safely around 1 p.m. local time and passengers were able to disembark as images on social media showed huge smoke plumes billowing from the runway.

This “coincided with a grass fire along the eastern side of the airport’s parallel runway,” Sydney Airport said in a statement. “It’s not clear at this stage if the two incidents are linked and investigations are continuing.”

“One of our flights to Brisbane experienced a suspected engine failure after take-off from Sydney Airport this afternoon,” Qantas Chief Pilot Richard Tobiano said in a statement. “We will also be conducting an investigation into what caused the engine issue.”

Sydney Airport said its main runway is still operational but passengers should expect some delays.

(Updates with statement from Sydney Airport.)