When an Emirates Airbus came down on the tarmac, it startled both passengers and airline employees since it was carrying people, baggage, and a major mystery.
Late on a Saturday night, the aircraft had just finished a 14-hour intercontinental voyage when passengers and ground workers began to disembark and discovered a massive hole in the side of the aircraft.
Not long after the jet took off from Dubai, “concerned” airline workers reported hearing a loud noise and informing Brisbane air traffic control that the plane could have blown a tyre.
Anyone know the drag fuel factor penalty for this one? 😳😂 #emirates #a380 pic.twitter.com/uPzsH9KVAk
— Pontius Pilate (@pontius_is_goat) July 2, 2022
Lisa Kay, an English actress who was traveling, recalled hearing a disturbance and saw the flight attendants looking worried at one another.
The experience, according to an English professor who was also on the trip, was “terrifying.”
Was on this flight, too. was at first utterly alarming, and the cabin crew quickly made contact with the pilot because they suspected something severe may have happened. They quickly continued as usual after that.
‘Their calm demeanour was reassuring – they knew it was not catastrophic,’ said Andrew Morris of UK’s Loughborough University.
The punctured plane was stranded on the ground in Brisbane – unable to make its return flight – as staff made repairs to the plane.
The airline confirmed the accident saying it was a ‘technical fault’.
‘One of the aircraft’s 22 tyres ruptured during cruise, causing damage to a small portion of the aerodynamic fairing, which is an outer panel or the skin of the aircraft,’ they said.
‘At no point did it have any impact on the fuselage, frame or structure of the aircraft.
‘The fairing has been completely replaced, checked and cleared by engineers, Airbus and all relevant authorities,’ Emirates added.