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ABC journalist Mark Willacy reveals moment his blood ran cold during Qantas take-off emergency at Sydney Airport

ABC journalist Mark Willacy reveals moment his blood ran cold during Qantas take-off emergency at Sydney Airport

Sydney news reporter describes sheer terror as plane takes off in wrong direction

Willacy, who was aboard the flight at the time, said it was “every passenger’s worst nightmare”

ABC journalist Mark Willacy has revealed the moment his blood ran cold when a Qantas plane he was on took off in the wrong direction at Sydney Airport.

Willacy, who was aboard the flight to Adelaide on Monday morning, said the plane began to accelerate in the wrong direction down the runway.

“I could see out the window and I could see the plane was heading towards the grass,” he told the ABC.

“I thought, ‘This is it, we’re going to crash.’

“I grabbed the armrests and braced myself for impact.”

The plane eventually corrected its course and took off safely, but Willacy said the experience was “terrifying”.

“It was every passenger’s worst nightmare,” he said.

“I’m just glad we all made it out safely.”

A Qantas spokesperson said the plane “briefly veered off the centreline during the take-off roll” but that “the aircraft corrected its course and took off safely”.

The spokesperson said the incident is being investigated.