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MEMBERS of the Gold Coast AFL team have been involved in a mid-air drama with a “technical issue” causing their Launceston flight to be diverted to Hobart.
The Suns were forced to catch a bus to Launceston tonight ahead of Saturday’s round 13 clash with Hawthorn after the unspecified problem on their Virgin*Australia*flight.
Suns captain Gary Ablett announced the late landing on*Twitter.
“Was supposed to land in Launceston 2 hours ago….. Just landed in Hobart,” he*said.
“Disaster….. Just got told we’re catching a bus to*launceston!”
Other comments on Twitter suggested it was a heavy*landing.
“Gee I hope I can get up for the game on Saturday! My necks still on the plane,” tweeted 19-year-old half-forward Luke*Russell.
A Virgin*Australia spokeswoman blamed a “technical issue in the cockpit” for the switch to*Hobart.
“The captain elected to divert as a precautionary measure and Hobart was the closest,” the spokeswoman*said.
She said the pilot landed without incident and the plane, with 56 people on board, was met by emergency services in accordance with standard*operating proceedures."
By the way, has anyone else noticed that the Qantas banner still flies around many AFL grounds? You'd think the AFL would be more on top of this. I was at Subi a few weeks back, no Virgin banners, only Qantas.