"Brace for impact": Qantas passengers recall terrifying emergency landing
Passengers onboard a Qantas flight have recalled the terrifying moment their plane rerouted as they were told to brace for impact.
Flight QF1929 was only 40 minutes into its trip from Brisbane to Adelaide when the plane was forced to turn around due to a brake issue.
Tudor Vasile was onboard the terrifying flight, and 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 of the moments before landing 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, as Vasile said, "I tell you, that was one hell of a joyride."
Another passenger Kurt Gray added, "You sort of picture the worst but they crew, they just looked after us so well."
Qantas confirmed to 9News there had been a problem with the landing gear brakes and the flight landed back in Brisbane shortly before 10am on Tuesday, just 40 minutes after take-off.
"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."
Image credits: Nine