A QANTAS plane flying from Sydney to Melbourne with 120 passengers on board was forced to turn back after suffering a tail strike on take-off on Monday.

The Boeing 767-300 was rotating for take-off around 5pm when it encountered a gust, lifting the nose more sharply than usual. This caused the plane to strike the ground on the underside of the tail assembly.

The Qantas crew decided to return to the airport about 15 minutes after departure. Their cockpit instruments had notified them of the tail strike. Passengers on the flight, QF-453, were kept on board for around 10 minutes while the plane was inspected. A runway inspection revealed a scrape mark south of the crossing runway. The plane was not damaged apart from some paint being scratched off.

The plane was cleared to fly again. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau has been notified of the incident but will not investigate.

Source: adelaidenow.com.au