Emirates Plane Flies For 14 Hours With Hole In Side After Passengers Heard Loud Bang

Passengers of an Emirates flight were startled to discover a large hole in the side of the plane as they disembarked in Australia following a lengthy flight from Dubai.

The Airbus A380 landed in Brisbane on 1 July following the near-14 hour flight from Emirates' main hub, during which pilots are said to have contacted Air Traffic Control to report a suspected issue.

Crew on board the plane told the authority they suspected they had blown a tyre while taking off from Dubai and requested to be met by emergency services when they landed, the Aviation Herald reports.

Passengers heard the incident take place either during or shortly after takeoff, with one passenger telling Australia’s Courier Mail he heard a worrying noise about 45 minutes into the flight, The Independent reports.

"There was a loud bang and I felt it through the floor as well,” he said, adding: "The cabin crew remained calm, stopped the food service and got on the phone and checked the wings, engines.”

Another passenger speaking to the publication recalled how passengers were told they would have to land on a different runway and have an engineer inspect the plane 'for a suspected landing gear problem', but when the aircraft landed the issue quickly became clear.

Images of the plane show a large hole located in the left wing root fairing where the wing meets the cabin. A fairing is added to reduce drag on the aircraft’s surface.

The plane has remained on the ground at Brisbane Airport since landing on Friday, and was not immediately able to set off for its return flight, but Emirates has assured the hole did not have any serious impacts.

In a statement to LADbible, a spokesperson for the airline said: "Our flight EK430 flying from Dubai to Brisbane on 1 July experienced a technical fault. One of the aircraft’s 22 tyres ruptured during cruise, causing damage to a small portion of the aerodynamic fairing, which is an outer panel or the skin of the aircraft."

“At no point did it have any impact on the fuselage, frame or structure of the aircraft," the spokesperson continued. "The aircraft landed safely in Brisbane and all passengers disembarked as scheduled. The fairing has been completely replaced, checked and cleared by engineers, Airbus and all relevant authorities. The safety of our passengers and crew has always been our top priority."

No passengers were reported as being injured as a result of the incident.

LADbible has reached out to Emirates for further comment.