Apparently reports are coming in that a Qantas plane, which was bound for Shanghai, was forced to circle Sydney for more than three hours yesterday after its landing gear failed to retract. Qantas flight QF129, which was operated by an Airbus 330, had taken off at 11:30am carrying 200 people. However, once the plane got in the air the captain found an issue with the landing gear.

Mr David Epstein, the Qantas Group Executive of Government and Corporate Affairs, said that the captain had been unable to fully retract the aircraft’s landing gear and subsequently had to burn fuel before trying to land. He went on to say that the service was unable to continue to Shanghai, because the drag on the landing gear would have resulted in fuel being burned in excess of the volume required to complete a nonstop flight. Following the procedure, the captain circled the aircraft over the Tasman Sea for approximately two hours in order to burn fuel and ensure that it was below its maximum landing weight.

The airline went on to say that the aircraft landed safely at 3pm and that it was not an emergency situation. The plane landed without any problems at all. Passengers, baggage and cargo were then transferred to a replacement aircraft departing from Shanghai. The passengers arrived five hours behind schedule.

Despite the fact that the passengers were late, most of them said that they were just happy to get to their destination that day. Many of them had been afraid that the flight was going to get canceled, and they were going to have to rebook everything.