Qantas flight is compelled to show again twice after surprising mid-air drama

Passengers on a Qantas flight in South Australia were left shaken and terrified after a series of dramatic mid-air incidents that saw the plane forced to turn back not once, but twice due to a bird strike.

The QantasLink Dash 8, bound for Port Lincoln, took off from Adelaide just before 8am on Saturday, only for the plane to be struck mid-flight, forcing the aircraft to circle over the Spencer Gulf before ultimately returning to base.

‘We were in the air for what felt like an eternity,’ passenger Barry Stribling told 7News.

‘They’d struck a bird in Port Lincoln there was no mechanical service, so they had to come back to Adelaide.’

Flight 2581 was cleared to fly again but it didn’t get far.

‘Didn’t even get halfway this time before they come over the PA again and announced they had a generator go out,’ Stribling said.

In a statement, Qantas said, ‘We appreciate the patience and understanding from our customers and apologise for the delay.’

Finally at 2pm, six hours after their initial departure to Port Lincoln, the Qantas flight took off for a third time.

Passengers (pictured) on a QantasLink flight from Adelaide to Port Lincoln have been left shaken by separate mid-air dramas

The Qantas flight was forced to turn back twice