Passengers aboard a QantasLink flight in South Australia endured a harrowing series of mid-air incidents on Saturday, forcing the aircraft to abort its journey not once, but twice.
Double Drama in the Skies
The QantasLink Dash 8 service, operating as flight 2581, departed Adelaide Airport bound for Port Lincoln just before 8am. However, the journey across Spencer Gulf was abruptly cut short. The aircraft was forced to circle and return to Adelaide after striking a bird near Port Lincoln.
Passenger Barry Stribling recounted the disbelief onboard. "People just couldn't believe it," he said. "They'd struck a bird in Port Lincoln there was no mechanical service, so they had to come back to Adelaide."
A Second Attempt Fails
After being cleared to fly again, the aircraft embarked on a second attempt. This effort proved even shorter. "Didn't even get halfway this time before they come over the PA again and announced they had a generator go out," Stribling explained.
Finding themselves back in Adelaide for a second time, frustration among passengers began to mount. The compounding delays had serious real-world consequences, particularly for passenger Imogen Evans and her partner.
Wedding Day Heartbreak and Eventual Departure
Evans was travelling to serve as the MC at her best friends' wedding. Speaking from the airport, she expressed her devastation at potentially missing the ceremony. "So sorry Mads, sorry Jordan, I'll be there as soon as I can... I'm devastated to miss the ceremony, it's two of my best friends," she said.
In a statement, Qantas apologised for the significant disruption: "We appreciate the patience and understanding from our customers and apologise for the delay."
Finally, at approximately 2pm—a full six hours after the original departure time—the determined passengers took off for a third time. Evans held out hope, stating, "Third time lucky, hopefully we'll get there for most of the ceremony, it'll still be a good night."
The extraordinary series of events highlights the unpredictable nature of regional air travel and the cascading effects of technical and environmental incidents on passenger plans.
