Emirates flight lands in Brisbane with massive hole in its side

Emirates flight lands in Brisbane with massive hole in its side
By James Harrison


Passengers on an Airbus A380 that flew from Dubai to Brisbane were shocked to discover a hole on the side of the plane after it landed.

Those on board the Emirates flight became aware of the damage as they were exiting the plane after a roughly 14-hour flight earlier this month.

It was revealed by the airline that the damage to the plane was due to a ruptured tire caused by a “technical fault” during the journey.

Images of the A380 were shared on Twitter where one of the passengers described the “terrifying” incident which took place “during cruise.”

“Was absolutely terrifying at first and the cabin crew knew something serious may have happened – were immediately in contact with the cockpit,” wrote Andrew Morris, an English professor at the UK’s Loughborough University.

“Shortly after, they resumed as normal. Their calm demeanor was reassuring — they knew it was not catastrophic.”

It’s unclear as to how long the plane was in the air for when the issue occurred, though some reports suggest it may have been around 45 minutes into the flight.

The crew advised air traffic controllers at Brisbane Airport of the situation ahead of time and requested the plane be met by emergency services on arrival, Aviation Herald reported.

Emirates released a statement saying that the rupture did not impact “the fuselage, frame or structure of the aircraft.”

“Our flight EK430 flying from Dubai to Brisbane on July 1 experienced a technical fault,” the statement read.

“One of the aircraft’s 22 tires ruptured during cruise, causing damage to a small portion of the aerodynamic fairing, which is an outer panel or the skin of the aircraft.”

The aircraft landed safely in Australia and damage to the plane has since been repaired, Emirates confirmed.

“The fairing has been completely replaced, checked and cleared by engineers, Airbus and all relevant authorities,” adds Emirates.

“The safety of our passengers and crew has always been our top priority.”

This incident came a few days after the A380 was given a reprieve after the German airline Lufthansa announced plans to redeploy the plane from Summer 2023.

The A380 has been on its way out since Airbus announced in 2019 that it was ceasing production of the airliner.

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