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Australia's Qantas Plane Forced to Land Following Fuel Leak
A plane of Australia's Qantas airlines was forced to make an emergency landing Friday night after it began leaking fuel moments after taking off from Adelaide airport, the Australian Associated Press (AAP) reported Saturday.
The plane, carrying 46 passengers, was on its way to Canberra when passengers reported to the flight crew what they thought was smoke near the fuselage around 6 p.m., the AAP said.
A Qantas spokeswoman was quoted as saying the pilot of the BAE 146 immediately turned the plane back to Adelaide in the South Australia state.
"It went back to Adelaide following an indication of a fuel problem," the spokeswoman said.
"The engineers had an initial look at the plane and decided, as a safety precaution, to keep the plane on the ground," she said.
She said the aircraft had been in the air for less than 15 minutes when the emergency occurred.
Airservices Australia spokesman Richard Dudley was quoted by AAP as saying passengers had initially thought the plane was on fire.
"Shortly into the flight, passengers noticed what they thought was smoke coming out of the fuselage," he said.
He said an investigation was underway to determine the cause of the leak.
Passengers on the flight were being accommodated in a hotel.
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