Qantas flight in smoke drama

SMOKE in the cabin has forced a Qantas plane to make an unscheduled landing at Alice Springs Airport.

The Qantas 767, carrying 160 passengers and 13 crew, was en-route from Singapore to Sydney via Darwin when smoke was noticed in the cabin this morning, said Alice Springs Airport general manager Don McDonald.

The plane made a precautionary landing about 20 minutes later.

The plane remains on the ground and is being examined by engineers.

Mr McDonald said there were no injuries to crew or passengers, who were contained in an area of the airport before being granted permission to enter the terminal.

He was hopeful the plane would be cleared to resume its flight shortly.

But, he said, if specialist engineers were required to from outside Alice Springs, the plane could remain grounded for hours.

A Qantas spokesman was not immediately available for comment.

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Last Update: Tuesday, April 1, 2003. 2:00pm (AEST)

Emergency landing after haze reported in Qantas cabin

Qantas says a Boeing 767 that made an emergency landing at Alice Springs Airport this morning has resumed its flight to Adelaide.

Qantas flight 82 was diverted to Alice Springs after a haze was reported in the cabin.

Qantas says initial investigations by aircraft engineers at Alice Springs Airport indicated the haze was caused by a problem with an air-conditioning unit.

The airline says there were 183 passengers on board the flight which had originated in Singapore.

The passengers were held behind ropes within the airport terminal to meet quarantine and customs restrictions.

Qantas says the passengers have now departed Alice Springs on the same plane.

Fire crews, ambulance and police were placed on standby early this morning for the landing which proceeded without injury to the passengers or crew.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s821635.htm