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A Qantas Dash 8-200 caught fire at Sydney airport on Tuesday shortly after landing, leading to 24 passengers evacuating via its front stairs.
The QantasLink Flight 265 had just arrived from Lord Howe Island at 5:40pm on Tuesday, 8 November. Smoke was seen billowing from 26-year-old VH-TQS’s rear tyres before flames erupted on the rear tyres of the aircraft.
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Emergency services arrived at the scene and extinguished the fire shortly after those on board were evacuated.
No passengers were injured in the incident, with many appearing relatively unfazed during the evacuation in footage posted to social media.
QantasLink CEO, Petrea Bradford, said, “Passengers on a flight from Lord Howe Island to Sydney were evacuated following reports of flames near the tyres after the aircraft had landed safely.
“We appreciate this would have been unsettling for passengers, and we thank them and our crew for evacuating in a calm and orderly manner.
“Airport fire crews attended, passengers will be bussed to the terminal, and engineers will inspect the aircraft.”
Despite the fire, reports confirmed that there was no smoke in the cabin and no medical services were required by passengers, despite paramedics arriving at the scene.
The incident comes just a week after Qantas was labelled ‘the spirit of disappointment’ by Choice.
The airline was handed a ‘Shonky Award’ for its sub-par performance over the past few years, according to the consumer watchdog group.
Qantas hit back, claiming Choice had used out-of-date data.
“Our call wait times are less than half what Choice is claiming,” said Qantas.
“No one is disputing the fact we had issues earlier this year, and we apologised for that, but it’s disappointing that Choice failed to acknowledge the impact that COVID and border closures have had on the entire aviation industry,” it went on to add.
chris
says:I bet if this story had been more positive from a PR viewpoint, the CEO of Qantas would have been front and centre. As it is, the (relatively unknown) CEO of QLink was left to front the media…
John Brett
says:What was the reason for the main landing gear tyres to catch fire ? just after landing? Brakes overheated or maybe a blown tyre?? ? ?