The United Airlines flight from Sydney to New York stunned travellers by ejecting the petrol less than 90 minutes after take off
Shocked passengers watch in horror as their plane dumps fuel before an emergency landing after a bird strikes the aircraft.
The United Airlines flight, bound for New York, made an unexpected stop in Sydney – 90 minutes after departing from the same airport.
The Boeing 777 dumped a large amount of fuel to make the aircraft lighter – which is standard procedure for an emergency landing.
A spokesperson for the airline said the incident on Monday was caused by a “possible bird strike”.
Stunned travellers on board filmed the fuel being ejected from the wing and faced a nervous wait as the flight circled the airport several times before landing.
Passenger and Instagram user Kiphale3 posted a video online with the caption: “Unbeknownst to me, we apparently hit birds during take off and flight crew spotted bird strike damage to the plane.
"#United Airlines decided to make the plane lighter by dumping fuel. A tad unnerving to watch this out your window. All is fine, however, and that is most important."
The flight took off from Sydney International Airport at 9:45am on Monday and landed back at the same hub at 11:13am.
Emergency teams met the commercial airline on the runway following the landing and guided it the gates.
A spokeswoman for United Airlines said: "United Airlines UA840 from Sydney to Los Angeles on Monday, 4th July returned to Sydney International Airport right after take-off due to a possible bird strike.
"United Airlines confirmed the aircraft safely returned to the airport at 11.13am and the flight has been cancelled.
“United Airlines is currently working to re-accommodate passengers on the next available flight and apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused."
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