Ben Squires
Travel Trouble

Qantas passengers feared for their lives: “I thought I was going to die”

Terrified passengers aboard a Qantas flight from Alice Springs to Brisbane reportedly feared for their lives after hearing a loud bang onboard shortly before landing.  

Witnesses aboard Boeing 717 flight QF1799, which took off from Alice Springs Saturday afternoon, claim passengers were told to brace and started sending goodbye messages to their loved one, while crew briefed a man how to operate the emergency exit.

Tash Henning, one of the passengers aboard the flight, told Daily Mail Australia that she feared she would never see her 14-year-old daughter again.

“I flipped my phone from flight mode so I could tell her to call her aunt, and that I loved her,” she said.

“As the flight attendants went through the emergency procedures I was just crying on my partner's chest.

“After the bang there was a lot of vibrating. They didn't tell us much. I am pretty mad I thought I was going to die and so did everyone else,” she said.

Qantas has downplayed the incident however, refuting claims passengers were told to adopt the brace position before landing.

A Qantas spokeswoman addressed the incident in a statement to The Courier-Mail.

“The pilots followed standard procedure, shut down the engine, and the flight landed normally in Brisbane at 6pm. Passengers disembarked shortly after,” she said.

What are your thoughts? Do you think there’s more to this than meets the eye?

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travel, qantas, Brisbane, domestic travel, Passengers, Alice Springs, Qantas Link