Rotor Work
6th Apr 2014, 22:42
From ABC News
More than 130 passengers had an unexpected stop-over in central Queensland overnight after their Jetstar flight was diverted to Rockhampton.
Jetstar flight 959 was travelling from Cairns to Sydney when passengers seated up front noticed a strong and pungent smell of fumes.
The captain of the Airbus A-320 relayed the situation to air traffic controllers and requested permission to land the plane at Rockhampton airport as a precaution.
Emergency Services were placed on standby but the plane touched down safely just after 9:00pm (AEST) on Sunday night.
Engineers worked through the night searching for the cause of the fumes.
Passengers were booked into local hotels while engineers worked through the night looking for the source of the fumes.
The airline says if the plane is cleared by engineers, passengers can resume their flight to Sydney on Monday morning.
They say if the plane is grounded for repairs, alternative arrangements will be made.
Rockhampton Councillor Neil Fisher says he understands Jetstar will be flying a replacement aircraft to Rockhampton so the passengers, including 50 Chinese tourists, can continue their flight.
Councillor Fisher says people who saw the plane land last night said the engine did not sound right.
"One of the plane spotters there had reported not only was the engine quite loud, but was running very roughly, quite differently to normally," he said.
"The airbus is probably one of the sweetest sounding of all of the passenger aircraft."
More than 130 passengers had an unexpected stop-over in central Queensland overnight after their Jetstar flight was diverted to Rockhampton.
Jetstar flight 959 was travelling from Cairns to Sydney when passengers seated up front noticed a strong and pungent smell of fumes.
The captain of the Airbus A-320 relayed the situation to air traffic controllers and requested permission to land the plane at Rockhampton airport as a precaution.
Emergency Services were placed on standby but the plane touched down safely just after 9:00pm (AEST) on Sunday night.
Engineers worked through the night searching for the cause of the fumes.
Passengers were booked into local hotels while engineers worked through the night looking for the source of the fumes.
The airline says if the plane is cleared by engineers, passengers can resume their flight to Sydney on Monday morning.
They say if the plane is grounded for repairs, alternative arrangements will be made.
Rockhampton Councillor Neil Fisher says he understands Jetstar will be flying a replacement aircraft to Rockhampton so the passengers, including 50 Chinese tourists, can continue their flight.
Councillor Fisher says people who saw the plane land last night said the engine did not sound right.
"One of the plane spotters there had reported not only was the engine quite loud, but was running very roughly, quite differently to normally," he said.
"The airbus is probably one of the sweetest sounding of all of the passenger aircraft."