Terrifying mid-air emergency: Virgin Australia flight makes unexpected landing
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Not all travel experiences are happy ones, unfortunately.
Midsummer travel plans were thrown into disarray when a Virgin Australia flight had to make an emergency landing after experiencing ‘technical issues’.
Brisbane-bound Flight VA469 left Perth shortly after 1 pm on Wednesday, but was forced to land in the same airport it just took off from due to 'technical issues' with the aircraft.
The passengers were told that there was a problem with the hydraulic flaps on the plane’s wings.
The Boeing 737 started circling the city below to burn off excess fuel before making the emergency landing just after 3 pm.
It flew around Rottnest Island and off the coast of Perth while waiting for clearance to land back in Perth. The issue left the pilots with just the brakes to rely on upon landing.
Fire crews were sent to the airport immediately just in case the plane caught on fire. Thankfully, the Boeing 737 landed back without any issues.
Engineers are now looking into the matter, and it is believed that the aircraft will remain grounded until the investigation is over.
A spokesperson for Virgin Australia told reporters that the safety of their guests was their ‘top priority’.
Passengers onboard the flight were put on a new flight scheduled to depart later that evening.
‘We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience,’ the spokesperson said.
Although the incident was scary (can you imagine being stuck on a plane for hours after being told that there was a ‘technical issue’ going on?), air travel is incredibly safe. Research shows that globally, the airline passenger fatality rate is one in eight million. This is because commercial aeroplanes are frequently inspected to ensure a safe travel experience.
However, there are still potential risks while travelling which cannot be understated. This is why extremely stringent safety regulations and standards must be maintained by all airlines. The failure to follow these regulations is what makes flight travel dangerous.
One of the main causes of flight accidents is due to pilot errors. An example of this, and possibly one of the deadliest air disasters in history, was the 1996 Charkhi Dadri mid-air collision.
Two large passenger jets – Saudi Flight 763 and Kazakhstan airline Flight 1907 – collided 15,000ft in the air over the village of Charkhi Dadri.
The crash was caused due to the Kazakhstani crew failing to maintain the correct altitude, and because of the confusing dialogue with the telecommunications tower. The harrowing final transcript of the event can be read here.
While this was certainly a terrifying incident, thankfully it had a happy ending. We hope that everyone involved in the flight is doing well.
Midsummer travel plans were thrown into disarray when a Virgin Australia flight had to make an emergency landing after experiencing ‘technical issues’.
Brisbane-bound Flight VA469 left Perth shortly after 1 pm on Wednesday, but was forced to land in the same airport it just took off from due to 'technical issues' with the aircraft.
The passengers were told that there was a problem with the hydraulic flaps on the plane’s wings.
The plane circled around the area before making the emergency landing. Credit: Shutterstock
It flew around Rottnest Island and off the coast of Perth while waiting for clearance to land back in Perth. The issue left the pilots with just the brakes to rely on upon landing.
Fire crews were sent to the airport immediately just in case the plane caught on fire. Thankfully, the Boeing 737 landed back without any issues.
Engineers are now looking into the matter, and it is believed that the aircraft will remain grounded until the investigation is over.
The passengers were unharmed. Credit: Shutterstock
A spokesperson for Virgin Australia told reporters that the safety of their guests was their ‘top priority’.
Passengers onboard the flight were put on a new flight scheduled to depart later that evening.
‘We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience,’ the spokesperson said.
Although the incident was scary (can you imagine being stuck on a plane for hours after being told that there was a ‘technical issue’ going on?), air travel is incredibly safe. Research shows that globally, the airline passenger fatality rate is one in eight million. This is because commercial aeroplanes are frequently inspected to ensure a safe travel experience.
However, there are still potential risks while travelling which cannot be understated. This is why extremely stringent safety regulations and standards must be maintained by all airlines. The failure to follow these regulations is what makes flight travel dangerous.
One of the main causes of flight accidents is due to pilot errors. An example of this, and possibly one of the deadliest air disasters in history, was the 1996 Charkhi Dadri mid-air collision.
Two large passenger jets – Saudi Flight 763 and Kazakhstan airline Flight 1907 – collided 15,000ft in the air over the village of Charkhi Dadri.
The crash was caused due to the Kazakhstani crew failing to maintain the correct altitude, and because of the confusing dialogue with the telecommunications tower. The harrowing final transcript of the event can be read here.
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