Qantas pilots were forced to make an emergency landing in San Francisco, after experiencing a ‘mid-flight explosion’ caused by engine failure, it has been reported.
Around 230 people were on board the Boeing 747 when the incident occurred, only 15 minutes into the Sydney-bound flight.
The failure caused a gaping hole in one of the aircraft’s four engines, although no injuries were reported.
“About 15 minutes into the flight, the flight crew picked up on some excessive vibration in the number four engine,” a Qantas spokesman told AAP.
The captain shut down the engine and informed San Francisco air traffic control of the problem. Passengers reported hearing a thud which was followed by a shower of sparks and some fire inside the engine.
“Certainly the engine failed, but what caused that failure is something that’s going to take some time to determine,” the spokesman said. “It’s possible, particularly at night, if the engine surged or when it failed, some passengers might have seen sparks or a flare of some description particularly coming from the rear of the engine.”
Passengers on the flight were transferred to hotels for the evening and will be flown home on a rescheduled flight.