A dramatic incident unfolded at Perth Airport on Sunday, September 15th, when a Qantas Airways flight bound for Singapore (QF71) damaged the runway during takeoff.
Flight tracking website FlightRadar24 shows QF71 departed Perth around 12:25 pm. Australian media reports, including news.com.au, captured the startling scene as the Airbus A332 aircraft appeared to rip up sections of the recently renovated runway.
An eyewitness, Mitchell, who goes by the online handle Ypphplaneguy and happens to be an aviation photographer, documented the event. His footage shows debris flying and pavement fragments littering the runway after the takeoff. Mitchell speculated that the plane might have had its brakes applied during initial acceleration.
The runway damage caused significant disruption. According to news.com.au, a Boeing 747 freighter scheduled to land in Perth was forced to divert to Adelaide due to the runway being “not big enough to land at” in its compromised state.
Fortunately, Qantas flight QF71 continued its journey unimpeded and landed safely in Singapore at 5:09 pm. Perth Airport is currently undergoing urgent repairs to address the runway damage.
