Qantas plane destroys runway, causing chaos at Perth Airport
- Asphalt cracked as Qantas plane took off
- Perth Airport undertakes urgent repairs
Maintenance crews at one of Australia’s busiest airports had to make quick repairs to the runway after a Qantas plane tore off sections of the tarmac during takeoff.
Extraordinary footage has emerged of the moment Qantas flight QF71 bound for Singapore left a trail of destruction as the plane took off from Perth airport at around 12.15pm on Sunday.
As the plane accelerated down the runway, fragments of the runway were torn off and flew through the air for some distance behind the plane.
Aviation photographer Mitchell, who calls himself YPPH Plane Guy, happened to be at the airport to capture the moment the road surface behind the plane was sprayed.
He explained that the plane was on the brakes while it was gaining more power.
“(That) is not the case with a lot of departing aircraft, which probably contributed to the amount of power in a particular area,” he said.
He said the site is one of the most recent of the ongoing runway renovations.
“The problem meant that aircraft had to travel a shorter distance to take off and a 747 freighter had to divert to Adelaide because the runway was not wide enough to land,” the photographer added.
Astonishing footage showed fragments of the runway floating in the air as Qantas flight QF71 took off for Singapore
The airport confirmed that runway three was only partially operational for the rest of the afternoon and evening, just hours before the start of a new working week.
“Earlier today, damage to the road surface of the main runway was found during a safety inspection after a departing aircraft,” an airport spokesperson told the Western Australian.
‘Work is currently underway to maintain the road surface.’
‘The Cross Runway remains fully operational.’
Neither Qantas nor Perth Airport can determine the exact cause of the damage.
It turned out that the asphalt had just been laid and that work on the asphalt would continue daily until November.
Perth Airport staff rushed to make urgent repairs to the tarmac on the main runway
Seven News reported that no planes could land on the damaged runway, which was only being used for a limited number of departing flights.
The platform issue reportedly did not cause any significant flight delays or cancellations for passengers as of Sunday evening.
Daily Mail Australia contacted Qantas and Perth Airport for comment.
