A flight attendant cried “stay down, heads down” as a Qantas flight was forced to make an emergency landing in Brisbane on Tuesday.

Qantas flight QF1929 left Brisbane Airport bound for Adelaide about 8.20am.

It was turned around about 40 minutes into the journey due to a mechanical malfunction.

Qantas acknowledged it would have been a “distressing” experience for those on board.

A video captured the terrifying moments passengers braced for touch down.

“Stay down, heads down, stay heads down,” the female flight attendant can be heard chanting in the background.

The passenger filming the clip can be seen with his head bent forward against the back of the seat in front of him.

The passenger next to him is doubled over with his hands pressed on the back of that seat.

As the plane hits the tarmac, the pilot calmly requests the cabin crew to “stand down” and there is a smattering of applause.

The aircraft requested a priority landing into Brisbane and as per standard process, emergency services were on standby.

A Qantas spokesperson said a mechanical issue was to blame for the flight incident.

“A flight from Brisbane to Adelaide returned to Brisbane shortly after takeoff due to an issue with landing gear brakes,” the spokesperson said.

“The aircraft landed normally and is being checked by engineers.

“We understand that this would have been a distressing experience for customers and we thank them for following the instructions of the crew.

“We are working hard to get customers on their way as quickly as possible.

“We will follow up with all customers to provide our support.”

Qantas said the issue involved a park brake.

“Pilots were notified of a park brake indication issue. The brakes did not fail,” said the spokesperson.

“It is a standard procedure for passengers to be required to go into the brace position in relation to this type of landing gear issue.

“The pilots followed standard protocol and the aircraft landed safely.”

The aircraft will be checked by engineers before it returns to service.