Qantas Airways leaking pipe sends 'river' flowing down plane aisle and soaks passengers

Flight to Melbourne was diverted back Los Angeles International Airport about an hour after takeoff when water began leaking on the double decker

A Qantas Airways plane was forced to return back to Los Angeles when a burst pipe sent a “river” of water down the aisles and drenched passengers on board. (Getty Images )

A Qantas Airways double decker plane was forced to return back to Los Angeles when a leaking pipe sent a “river” of water down the aisles.

Water ran down stairs in the cabin and dripped onto passengers seated in the lower deck, while some people were moved to dryer areas of the plane.

The QF94 to Melbourne landed safely again at Los Angeles International Airport about an hour after takeoff, the company said in a statement. Passengers were offered accommodation at a hotel as other flight arrangements were made.

Yvette Nicole Brown, an actress in the film 500 Days of Summer, was on board the flight and tweeted: “Pipe burst on my #Qantas flight over the Pacific. We were diverted back to LA. River running thru [sic] the aisles #ScaryTimes”.

Qantas said there were no safety concerns with the leak and that the captain decided to turn the Airbus A380 around in the interest of passenger comfort.

In a statement, it said: "Crew on board did everything they could to help customers, including moving them to unaffected areas and providing spare blankets so they could stay dry.

"We're also providing customers with hotel accommodation while the issue is being fixed by our engineers in Los Angeles.

"There were no safety of flight concerns with the water leak, however the Captain decided to return to LA in the interests of passenger comfort. We are liaising with Airbus to understand what caused this fault."

The A380 is a large four-engine jet with two decks of passenger seating. The planes first flew to the United States in 2007.