Passengers touched down at Wagga Airport in one piece after a terrifying emergency landing on Thursday afternoon.
Dozens of emergency service crews waited on the tarmac below while a Regional Express plane circled repeatedly in the air to buy time before making its descent.
The passengers were ordered to enter the brace position during the emergency landing, but the plane managed to enter the runway without any issue.
Army recruit Sarah Kendall, who was one of the passengers aboard the flight from Albury, said everyone was unharmed - albeit suffering from some motion sickness.
"Everyone was pretty chill. We were up in the air doing a few circles, and a few people were feeling quite sick because we were in the air for a long time," Ms Kendall said.
"When we landed we had to brace, like in a movie. Then I was like, 'oh my goodness'. While were in the air every time we turned you'd hit an air bubble."
Fellow traveller Riley Galbraith said there was some nerve-racking turbulence during the descent, but said he never had any fears about crashing.
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"They gave us a warning over the speakers saying we're still safe, but we've got a system error," Mr Galbraith said.
"It was a little bit worrying, but the pilot said the situation was still safe. He did another update 15 minutes later, saying we're still safe but we'd be getting emergency to meet us when we land."
Rob Matthews said he was not sure what the cause of the emergency landing was, but was told it was due to a technical fault.
"I didn't know what to think, to be honest. We were told it could be something wrong with the landing gear or there's something technically wrong and we'd be floating in the air for a while until they achieved a landing," he said.
Kamala Anggamuthu was in a separate QantasLink plane that was also forced into a holding pattern while waiting for the Rex plane to land.
As a result Ms Anggamuthu's arrival was delayed, but said she was simply happy to arrive in one piece.
"Obviously we had a fright," Ms Anggamuthu said.
"You do wonder, you know, whether it's going to land or how long it's going to take."
A Rex spokesman said the emergency landing was due to a "minor handling issue", with emergency services called just in case.
"Rex flight ZL3322, operating from Albury to Wagga Wagga today, reported a minor handling issue on take-off from Albury," the spokesman said.
"As a precaution, the crew elected to place emergency services on standby at Wagga Wagga for the arrival. Pilots followed standard operating procedures and the aircraft landed normally at 3:48pm."
Kenji Sato
Kenji Sato is a handsome journalist at The Daily Advertiser who enjoys writing flattering bios about himself in the third person. He can be contacted by email at kenji.sato@dailyadvertiser.com.au or by mobile on 0448 927 612.
Kenji Sato is a handsome journalist at The Daily Advertiser who enjoys writing flattering bios about himself in the third person. He can be contacted by email at kenji.sato@dailyadvertiser.com.au or by mobile on 0448 927 612.
