An “unusual smell” aboard an Australian flight caused the Boeing 737 to turn around and a crew member to be rushed to the hospital on Wednesday.
The New Zealand-bound Qantas flight, QF163, took off from Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport at around 6:45 p.m. local time without any issues and climbed to 37,000 ft.
But over an hour in, a strange odor inside the cabin caught the attention of the crew. Pilots decided to turn the Boeing 737-800 (registration VH-XZL) around.
The Boeing 737 touched down on the runway of Syndey Airport shortly after 9 p.m.
A flight from Sydney to Wellington returned to Sydney after reports of an unusual smell in the cabin.
Qantas spokesperson
The plane “landed safely” after the pilot called for a “priority” landing — not an “emergency landing,” the spokesperson noted.
After the plane arrived at the airport, a cabin crew member was taken to the hospital for a precautionary medical examination.
The aircraft was checked by engineers who determined the odd odor was caused by “a product used in the galley area during routine maintenance,” a company spokesperson told The Post.
The Boeing has since been put back into service, and all customers on the diverted flight were given replacement bookings to their destination.
