Qantas Airlines: Plane makes emergency landing after descending more than 20,000ft mid-flight due to 'technical problem'

QF1871 descended more than 20,000 feet in a few minutes before it continued to travel at 10,000 feet, indicating a pressurisation issue. The plane was travelling from Townsville to Brisbane in Australia, and made an emergency landing at the nearest airport in Rockhampton.

The flight requested a priority landing, where it safely landed at 7.16am on Tuesday (17 September). The flight had been due to land in Brisbane at 9.00am. A Qantas spokeswoman said that passengers would be put on flights this morning to Brisbane.

The deliberate drop in altitude suggested the plane had a cabin pressurisation issue. Descending to 10,000 feet allows passengers and crew to breathe normally without having to apply oxygen masks. 

FlightRadar data, posted to Central Queensland Plane Spotting page, showing a rapid decrease in altitude within minutes. The blog page posted: “Something up with QantasLink (Alliance Airlines) flight QF1871 E190 VH-UYR down from Townsville to Brisbane. Currently squawking 7700 and rapid descent now diverting to Rockhampton airport by the looks.”

A Qantas spokeswoman told NewsWire: “The flight landed normally and we’ll get passengers on their way to Brisbane on other flights this morning. We understand this would have been an unsettling experience for our customers and want to thank them for their patience and understanding.” An investigation into the incident has been launched.