The pilot on a Qantas flight that made an emergency landing in Brisbane today following a brake issue warned frightened passengers to brace for impact.
Tudor Vasile was on flight QF1929 when it was forced to turn back while on the way to Adelaide.
He told 9News his fellow passengers were fearing the worst.
“The captain jumped on the mic and said ‘brace for impact, brace for landing, brace for landing’,” Vasile said.
“We were just waiting for that big explosion to occur.”
Footage showed passengers in the brace position as cabin crew members repeated told them to “stay down, heads down”.
Vasile said the fear was palpable as the plane made a rapid approach to the runway.
“Everyone was looking at each other and going into brace position … You could feel goosebumps and everyone was starting to panic at some stages, wondering what the hell was going to happen next.”
The pilot made a textbook landing before engineers rushed to examine the plane.
“I tell you, that was one hell of a joyride,” Vasile added.
“You sort of picture the worst but they crew, they just looked after us so well,” another passenger, Kurt Gray, said.
Flight QF1929 left Brisbane about 8.20am and about 40 minutes later the captain alerted passengers there was an issue with the brakes.
Qantas confirmed to 9news.com.au there had been a problem with the landing gear brakes and the flight landed back in Brisbane shortly before 10am.
“A flight from Brisbane to Adelaide returned to Brisbane shortly after take-off due to an issue with landing gear brakes,” a spokesperson said.
“The aircraft landed normally and is being checked by engineers. We understand that this would have been a distressing experience for customers and we thank them for following the instructions of the crew.
“We are working hard to get customers on their way as quickly as possible. We will follow up with all customers to provide our support.”
The airline said early investigations indicate a faulty brake warning light was to blame.
