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Qantas flight returns to LAX after aisles flood with water

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A Qantas Airways flight that took off from Los Angeles International Airport bound for Melbourne, Australia, had to turn back early Wednesday after the plane sprung a leak and its aisles flooded with water.

Passengers on the Airbus A380 jet immediately took to social media to document the bizarre incident, posting videos and photos of a river of water flowing down the aisles and dripping onto passengers lower level of the double-deck airliner.

Among them was “Community” actress Yvette Nicole Brown.

“Pipe burst on my #Qantas flight over the Pacific. We were diverted back to LA. River running thru the aisles #ScaryTimes #WillKeepYouPosted,” she posted on Twitter.

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Another Twitter user jokingly noted that the plane’s seats could be used as a flotation device, even inside the plane.

Flight 94 departed LAX just after midnight and was cruising at about 31,000 feet when the leak began.

In a statement, Qantas said there was no safety or flight concerns from the leak but the pilot opted to return to Los Angeles for passenger comfort.

The flight crew “did everything they could to help customers, including moving them to unaffected areas and providing spare blankets so they could stay dry,” Qantas said in the statement.

Qantas put passengers up for the night in hotels and had a flight scheduled to depart Los Angeles on Wednesday morning.

The Airbus A380 was to be inspected by Qantas engineers and airline officials plan to consult with the plane’s manufacturer to determine what caused the leak.

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Because Qantas is a foreign airline and therefore subject to another government, the Federal Aviation Administration will probably take a report of the incident and forward its findings to its equivalent agency in Australia, officials said.

For breaking California news, follow @JosephSerna.

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