A Qantas flight has made an emergency landing at Sydney Airport after a suspected engine failure in the moments after takeoff.

Qantas flight QF520 had just departed for Brisbane just after 1pm on Friday when passengers heard a loud bang.

“The pilot had turned on to the runway and given it full thrust and we were at the end of the runway, literally the wheels were just taking off the ground, and there was a large bang and a really jolting shudder went through the plane,” ABC reporter Mark Willacy, who was among those onboard, told the national broadcaster.

“We knew immediately something was wrong. But what was more disturbing, I think, the plane really laboured after that.”

The pilot told passengers there was a major problem with the Boeing 737-838’s right engine.

Willacy said the plane banked and looped over Sydney for about 15 minutes before eventually landing safely.

The plane circled in the skies above Sydney for some time, before landing. Image: Flight Radar 24

The incident on Friday afternoon coincided with a grass fire along the eastern side of one of the airport’s runways.

“As we were coming in, it was clear that there was some sort of fire on the runway,” Willacy said.

“There was … a lot of smoke, a lot of fire engines … Eventually we had to make a very efficient exit from the plane because the right engine was still leaking some sort of fluid.

“When we landed, there was a lot of applause and cheering among the passengers. And I have to praise, always, the professionals and the pilots and the crew… The passengers were all very focused, some worried looks, of course, but everyone is safely on the ground now.”

Willacy said the “big bang and shudder” as the plane left the ground was unlike anything he’d ever felt before.

“The plane just did not feel stable at any point, but the most frightening bit, I think, for everyone was that labouring to get altitude just after we took off,” he said.

“It wasn’t getting altitude like normal and so, you know, that one engine was really pumping it out hard to get us into the air.”

Statement on QF520 which landed safely at Sydney Airport this afternoon after a suspected engine failure.https://t.co/qTqqWb21vl

— Qantas (@Qantas) November 8, 2024

Qantas said suspected engine failure was behind the incident.

“After circling for a short period of time, the aircraft landed safely at Sydney Airport,” chief pilot Captain Richard Tobiano said.

“Our pilots are highly trained to handle situations like this and the aircraft landed safely after the appropriate procedures were conducted.

“We understand this would have been a distressing experience for customers and we’ll be contacting all customers this afternoon to provide support. We’ll also be conducting and investigation into what caused the engine issues.”

Sydney Airport said later it was still unclear if the grassfire was related to the engine fault on QF520. The blaze was brought under control by the airport’s Aviation Rescue Firefighting Service.

Sydney’s main runway was operational on Friday afternoon, but travellers were urged to check with airlines about any potential delays.

The parallel runway will be inspected before it is used again.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau said it had opened an investigation into the incident.