Qld: Qantas jet grounded after bird strike
BRISBANE, Aug 18 AAP - A Qantas passenger jet was grounded in far north Queenslandafter a bird was sucked into one of its engines.
The Boeing 737-800, carrying 126 passengers, had just taken off from Cairns airportabout 7pm (AEST) last night when the bird strike occurred.
Several loud bangs were heard aboard flight QF800 to Darwin when the pilot respondedby shutting down the engine and returned to the Cairns airport.
Qantas today said the bird strike was to the engine on the plane's left wing.
Residents living near the airport said they heard several loud noises, followed bya bright shower of sparks.
"We were just sitting on the balcony having dinner. We just saw the plane taking offand climbing up over the buildings when we just heard a great big thumping noise," Cairnsresident Scott Davis told ABC Radio.
"It didn't really look like it was exploding. We assumed there are a lot of birds outthat way towards the airport and something got sucked in."
A Qantas spokeswoman said the passengers were shaken but no one was injured.
Qantas arranged another flight to transport the passengers to Darwin while the twin-enginedjet was grounded for repairs.
AAP ved/sc/cjh/jlw
KEYWORD: QANTAS BIRD
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