Qantas pilots on a flight from Singapore to London were forced to make an emergency landing in Baku, Azerbaijan, as their plane flew over central Asia on Friday.
Flight QF1 landed safely at Baku’s Heydar Aliyev International Airport and was met by emergency services on the runway, after the pilots reported 7700, a code used to communicate an on-board emergency to air traffic controllers aerial
Flight radars show the plane took off from Singapore’s Changi Airport and had been in the air for about nine hours before making a sharp 180-degree turn and exploding/emitting the emergency code while flying over Georgian airspace.
Azerbaijani news daily Trend reports that smoke was detected in the plane’s cargo hold, but a Qantas spokesman could not confirm this late on Friday, telling Guardian Australia engineers were still they were inspecting the Airbus A380.
“Our flight from Singapore to London has made an unscheduled landing at Baku Airport in Azerbaijan after the pilots received a flashing error indicator in the cockpit,” a Qantas spokesman said.
“Engineers will inspect the aircraft before continuing its journey,” the spokesman said.
It is not clear how long the plane will stay in Baku.
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