Sydney-bound Qantas Boeing 737 diverted after flames spotted from engine mid-flight

A Qantas flight from Queenstown in New Zealand to Sydney was diverted to Christchurch on Saturday after footage taken shortly after take-off appeared to show flames shooting from one side of the aircraft, according to a report by ABC News.

A Qantas spokesperson confirmed that flight QF122 had experienced a "suspected engine issue" mid-flight and was diverted. "One of our flights to Sydney experienced a suspected engine issue after take-off from Queenstown this afternoon and the aircraft diverted to Christchurch," the spokesperson said, adding, "Our pilots are highly trained to manage situations like this and the aircraft landed safely."

Footage provided to ABC News showed flames appearing to come from the aircraft's left engine. The Boeing aircraft had left Queenstown just before 3:30 pm and was scheduled to land in Sydney at 4:50 pm.


Qantas told ABC that the aircraft was cleared for a priority landing in Christchurch and that both engines remained operating throughout, with no engine shutdown or failure experienced.

Liam Aspinall, who was sitting with friends in Queenstown at the time, told ABC News he noticed the flames as the aircraft approached from a distance. "I noticed flames appearing to come off the thing as it was approaching us from afar," he said. "Sounded like gunshots, [it] was loud."

Qantas said support was being provided to passengers in recognition of what would have been a "distressing experience," and that they were being offered accommodation and help arranging alternative flights.

The aircraft involved was a Boeing 737-800 carrying around 160 passengers. New Zealand's Civil Aviation Authority initially attributed the incident to a suspected bird strike before saying the exact cause remained under investigation.