In the last few moments, Qantas flight QF1871 from Townsville to Brisbane has declared an emergency.
VH-XVP is understood to be the aircraft involved in the incident.
Follow below for live updates!
Live Emergency!: Qantas Flight QF1872 Townsville-Brisbane…
TOUCHDOWN!
TOUCHDOWN! Qantas flight QF1871 from Townsville has appeared to have landed safely into Brisbane following it’s emergency declaration around an hour or so ago.
It is suspected to have been a pressurisation issue, but this is yet to be confirmed.
As soon as we have more information pertinent to this, we will update you accordingly.
For now, this remains a developing story pending additional updates.
On Final Approach…
QF1871 is now on final approach for Runway 19R at Brisbane, landing expected imminently.
Entering Base for Runway 19R…
QF1871 is now entering the Base Leg for Runway 19R at Brisbane.
Now Turning Towards BNE & Descending…
QF1871 has now turned back towards Brisbane, and is descending through FL90. Could very well just be a temporary deviation.
Now Tracking East Towards Sunshine Coast…
The aircraft is now tracking east in the direction of Sunshine Coast at FL100. Unclear whether the plans for diversion have changed.
Descending…
QF1871 is now descending once again, presumably to set up for the approach into BNE.
Confirmed Continuing to BNE…
It has been confirmed that QF1871 will be continuing on to BNE as planned, and is still cruising at FL170-180.
Limping To Brisbane for Maintenance Facilities?
It is key to note that the crew on QF1871 may have opted to continue on to Brisbane due to the maintenance facilities Qantas has there.
This means that if there is something wrong with the aircraft, it can be fixed at the maintenance facility there instead of being stuck in Townsville.
Recap of the ADS-B Data…
Courtesy of RadarBox, you can see the varied altitudes that have already taken place following the initial emergency call.
To recap, the aircraft climbed up to FL260, before making a rapid descent down to FL100.
From there, after the squawk change, the aircraft climbed to FL170, where it has been since.
Now at FL170…
QF1871 is now at FL170, with it unclear whether it will climb higher or not.
If it was a cabin pressure issue, they may be doing incremental climbs to see if their fixes have worked or not.
We will continue to monitor the aircraft as this happens.
About VH-XVP – The Qantas Aircraft Involved in the Emergency on QF1871 Townsville-Brisbane…
VH-XVP is the aircraft involved in the incident today.
As per Planespotters, VH-XVP is a 16.7 year old Embraer E190 that started out life with US Airways back in December 2007.
By December 2013, the aircraft was handed over to American Airlines, before being sent to Jetran in July 2021.
From there, the aircraft was sent to storage with TVPX Trust Services, before being delivered to Alliance Airlines in October 2022 and operates the aircraft for QantasLink.
Unclear Whether The Emergency is Under Control…
At this stage, it is unclear whether the emergency at hand is under control now that the aircraft is climbing.
Furthermore, it is also unclear whether the aircraft is continuing on to Brisbane or not.
Was at FL100…
QF1871 was at an altitude of FL250 before rapidly descending down to FL100, and is now climbing again past FL120.
The aircraft is now squawking 4472, as per RadarBox, with it unclear what the issue at hand is.
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