Jetstar flight JQ956 from Sydney to Cairns shuts off engine after smoke fills cabin

Georgina Mitchell

A Jetstar flight diverted to Brisbane and was left with just one operational engine on Thursday afternoon after an incident where the cabin filled with smoke.

Flight JQ956, an Airbus A320, departed from Sydney at around 3.40pm on its way to Cairns.

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Smoke fills Jetstar cabin

A Jetstar flight on its way to Cairns stopped in Brisbane after an incident where the cabin filled with smoke. Vision courtesy ABC News 24

However, when it was passing over Narrabri in Northern NSW, smoke began to filter into the cabin and passengers reported hearing a scraping noise.

A video filmed by a passenger showed a haze in the cabin, as flight attendants walked up and down the aisle. At one point, the overhead lights flicked on and off.

An Airbus A320, similar to the plane pictured, diverted to Brisbane after its engine was switched off. Photo: Supplied

It is understood there was a technical issue with one of the engines. A Jetstar spokesman said it was switched off "as a precaution".

"The Captain decided to shut down one of the engines as a precaution and divert the aircraft to Brisbane," the spokesman said.

No emergency was declared when the plane arrived at Brisbane and none of the passengers were injured.

Engineers are investigating the cause of the smoke, which would have entered the cabin through the air conditioning system, the spokesman said.

The plane was flying near Narrabri in northern NSW when it was diverted to Brisbane. Photo: Flight Radar 24

"The hazy smoke seen in the video happened when the aircraft had landed safely in Brisbane and shortly before the passengers disembarked," he said.

"The smoke would have entered the cabin through the air conditioning unit, which runs via air from the engines."

Jetstar described this situation as "rare" and said the plane's crew were trained to deal with it.

"While it's rare for something like this to happen, our crew ... handled the situation very professionally," the spokesman said.

"Passengers were kept informed throughout and were transferred to another flight and arrived in Cairns later on Thursday evening."

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