Wild video caught a passenger plane tearing up a chunk of runway during takeoff — forcing a busy Australian airport to partially close for urgent repairs.
The Singapore-bound Qantas jet was filmed taking off from Perth Airport on Sunday — just for a huge chunk of tarmac to lift up in a puff of smoke as it accelerated for takeoff, according to the West Australian.
The bustling airport was forced to carry out urgent repairs on its main runway for the rest of the day and overnight, forcing numerous diversions and only allowing a few planes to take off as planned.
Local YouTuber Mitchell Booth, 13, recorded the wild mishap while plane spotting, something he’d never seen before.
“When [the pavement] did lift up, it was quite high and it created a bit of dust … probably from when it smashed on the ground,” he told ABC Radio Perth.
Mitchell believed it was caused by the runway only recently being resurfaced.
The airport rushed to make repairs overnight as the main runway was only partly operational.
While the airport confirmed Monday morning the runway had reopened and was operational, additional repairs are still needed due to the incident.
“These additional works are based on the advice of an external civil engineer, sought as part of an ongoing investigation to understand the cause of the pavement failure,” the airport officials said in a statement.
Western Australia Premier Roger Cook said the government will launch an investigation to determine how the runway was destroyed, calling the damage concerning given the airport is “key economic infrastructure in WA,” adding that he wants Perth Airport to fix the runway “as soon as possible”, according to ABC.
“It’s extraordinary that the tarmac would buckle in that way,” he said. “We’re certainly looking for an explanation from Perth Airport.”
