Another Qantas plane forced down due to engine trouble

SINGAPORE // Another Qantas plane made an emergency landing in Singapore on Friday after experiencing engine problems, an airline spokeswoman said.

The Sydney-bound Boeing 747-400 landed safely at Changi Airport without incident, she said.

"Shortly after take-off the captain experienced an issue with one of its engines," the spokeswoman said.

Passengers on board said they heard a bang and saw flames "coming out" of the aircraft's engine minutes after takeoff.

"We could see some flames coming out from the engine," Singaporean passenger Terence Sim told reporters after disembarking at the airport.

"We could see quite an impressive plume of flame from the engine," said Australian national Andrew Jenkins, 43.
"There was a bang, not particularly loud, just loud enough to draw your attention."

Sri Lankan-born Australian national Ranjan Sivagnanasumdaram said he also heard the bang and they were told to prepare for emergency landing, but there was no panic.

"There was a small bang noise," he said. "They basically asked for us to put our heads down and be like that for 20 minutes. They (rest of the passengers) were not panicking as such, there was not much of a chaos."

Some passengers said the plane dumped fuel 25 minutes before the forced landing.

It was the second incident in as many days involving a Qantas plane.

On Thursday, an Airbus A380 operated by the Australian flag carrier made a dramatic emergency landing in Singapore after an engine failed minutes after taking off on the flight from the city-state to Sydney.

* AFP