Qantas flight QF1889, Darwin to Cairns emergency: Plane drops 20,000 feet after warning light goes off

A Qantas flight travelling domestically in Australia has suffered a mid-air incident after a warning light went off in the cockpit and the plane descended 20,000 feet in minutes.

QF1889 was scheduled to fly from Darwin to Cairns on Monday, however, it was forced to abandon the scheduled journey and urgently return to Darwin Airport for a priority landing.

The Qantas flight, which was operated by Alliance Aviation, took off around 6.15am.

Around 30 minutes into the flight, a warning light went off and the plane went into a “rapid descent”, which was manually conducted, bringing the plane from 30,000 feet, to 10,000.

“The pilots received a pressurisation warning light shortly after take off on Monday morning and followed standard operating procedures,” a Qantas spokesperson said.

The airline accepted that the experience would have been “unsettling” for those on board, but stressed the plane did not “plunge”.

“We understand this might have been an unsettling experience for our customers and want to thank them for their patience and understanding.”

The airline said pilots followed standard protocol and that the incident is being investigated.

Speaking to local outlet the NT News, one passenger said the cabin filled with screams as the plane plunged 20,000 feet with no explanation or warning.

“I think it is the closest all of us passengers ever want to come to a plane crash,” they said.

“There was no notification before descending quickly.

“Paramedics were waiting when we landed.”

Speaking to ABC News Breakfast, another passenger said the drop made her think “we were going to die”.

“The little girl next to me started screaming in pain from her ears hurting from the rapid descent,” she said.