Link Airways flight can’t get through weather, turns around and returns to Tamworth

[Mattg]

There’s a bit of nasty weather this evening south of Brisbane.

A Link Airways Saab 340 was en-route this evening from Tamworth to Brisbane when it encountered weather ahead of it that was so bad that it turned around and diverted back to its origin. As you can see from the map, there wasn’t really anywhere else it could go.

 

[Mattg]

Looks like quite a few flights affected this evening.

This was the route used by QF1276 from Melbourne to Brisbane:

 

[Rabs97]

There’s a bit of nasty weather this evening south of Brisbane.

A Link Airways Saab 340 was en-route this evening from Tamworth to Brisbane when it encountered weather ahead of it that was so bad that it turned around and diverted back to its origin. As you can see from the map, there wasn’t really anywhere else it could go.

View attachment 484522

Turboprops cruise at lower flight levels, high 100s to low 200s. Jets in the mid to high 300s can get around cell tops a little easier. Given the short flight they also may not have had enough fuel to reroute around that whole system, it would have been double the fuel for a straight track to BNE.

 

[Groundfeeder]

Listened to BNE Centre & Approach on scanner yesterday and you gotta love the controllers work. Forecast altered late afternoon for a drencher at Gold Coast which took away their tea break.

 

[henrus]

A Link Airways Saab 340 was en-route this evening from Tamworth to Brisbane when it encountered weather ahead of it that was so bad that it turned around and diverted back to its origin. As you can see from the map, there wasn’t really anywhere else it could go.

I think the same flight tried again a bit later.

 

[markis10]

Turboprops cruise at lower flight levels, high 100s to low 200s. Jets in the mid to high 300s can get around cell tops a little easier. Given the short flight they also may not have had enough fuel to reroute around that whole system, it would have been double the fuel for a straight track to BNE.

Turboprops often cruise a lot higher than what you quoted. More accurately it’s unpressurised aircraft that cruise below FL200 as a guide. The RFDS/RAAF king airs have a surface ceiling of FL350.