A Qantas flight due to depart Sydney International Airport on Sunday morning came to an abrupt halt on the runway after passengers and crew reportedly saw flames shoot from an engine.
The pilot of flight QF91 to Noumea, New Caledonia, was preparing for takeoff at 7.40am when the flames broke out.
The pilot sent an urgent 'pan-pan' alert – a low-level risk alert not posing an immediate danger to life – to Air Traffic Control, asking for assistance from aviation fire and rescue crews.
"The pilots followed procedure and shut down the engine as a precaution after being alerted by the control tower while taxiing," a Qantas spokesperson said.
"There was no warning light in the cockpit and no sign of fire when the engine was shut down.
"Engineers have inspected the aircraft and cleared it to return to service.
"Passengers were reaccommodated on another flight this morning."
It is believed there may have been up to 174 passengers on board at the time.
The aircraft was escorted to the terminal under guard of a number of fire trucks.
More to come...
