A passenger onboard QF520 to Brisbane says it was ‘a real struggle to get airborne and it was clear to everyone … that something was badly wrong’

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A Qantas flight bound for Brisbane was forced to turn back to Sydney after suffering an engine failure, with the emergency landing coinciding with a grass fire next to one of the airport’s runways.

QF520 left Sydney airport about 12.35pm, but four minutes later the Boeing 737 suddenly changed direction and stopped climbing, before circling and returning to the airport, where it made an emergency landing shortly after 1pm.

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