Qantas flight declares emergency as smoke fills cockpit

QANTAS BOEING 737-838 VH-VZV (MSN 34189)

A Qantas flight heading from Sydney (SYD/YSSY) to Perth (PER/YPPH) was forced to make an emergency landing in back Sydney yesterday after smoke was spotted in the cockpit.

Flight QF643 departed Sydney en route to the Western Australian capital from runway 16R at around 8.45am local (21.45 UTC) but turned back after only 10 minutes into the flight.

The flight, which climbed to 13,000 feet, landed normally on runway 16R 17 minutes later at 9.02am (22.02 UTC) and taxied to the gate without issue after the captain requested a priority landing.

The plane was met by 6 emergency services after it landed, however no injuries have been reported. It is understood there was visible smoke in the cockpit, but no smoke was seen in the cabin. 

"One of our Sydney to Perth flights returned to Sydney shortly after take-off yesterday, after reporting a technical issue," a spokesperson for Qantas confirmed.

"Our pilots are highly trained to handle situations like this and the aircraft landed safely after the appropriate procedures were conducted" they went on to say.

"We understand this would have been an unsettling experience for customers and apologise for the inconvenience. Our engineers will be checking the aircraft today and we will be conducting an investigation into what caused the issue."

Passengers were offered an additional flight, and it was scheduled to leave at 11.30am the same day.

Aircraft Information:
Airline: Qantas Airways
Code: QF/QFA
Aircraft: Boeing 737-838
Registration: VH-VZV
Serial Number: 34189
Engines: 2 x CFMI CFM56-7B26
First Flew: 17th November 2011
Age: 13.3 Years old