On December 31, a Qatar Airways flight from Brisbane to the Gulf nation of Qatar was forced to land after passengers reported seeing something hanging from the plane’s wing.
The aircraft was about 14 hours into its trip when the incident occurred.
According to data from Flight Radar 24, the pilots of the Boeing 777-300 stopped climbing at around 10,000 feet before entering a holding pattern near the Gold Coast.
The incident was reported on Twitter by users of the Flight Emergency account.
The pilots reportedly decided to return to Brisbane after a “pilot came down to assess.”
As the aircraft flew above the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast, it circled around the area before landing back at the airport.
Qatar Airways stated that the flight was delayed, though it was not yet clear when it would be able to return to its destination.
Since the airport in Brisbane does not have a curfew, it is believed that the crew members were not able to finish their work before they were allowed to return to the country.
A spokesperson from Qatar Airways said that the flight was forced to return to the airport due to a technical issue.