Remarkably, neither the passengers nor the crew were aware of the damage during the flight, which was only identified by engineers upon arrival in Perth.

A Qantas spokesperson expressed apologies to passengers for the inconvenience caused by the incident and thanked them for their understanding.

The incident led to the cancellation of an onward flight to Sydney and a future flight from Melbourne to Los Angeles.

The incident occurred while Flight QF6 was on a 16-hour journey to Perth, carrying 195 passengers.

The crew discovered the extent of the damage, including a gaping hole in the aircraft wall, only after landing, nearly 16 hours after takeoff.

On August 24, 2024, a Qantas Boeing 787 Dreamliner sustained damage during takeoff from Rome's Leonardo da Vinci International Airport when a piece of tire detached and struck the underside of the right wing.

Damage was confirmed as a result of tread separation from one of the Boeing 787-9's tires, affecting the lower right wing.

Photographs taken after landing revealed cracks in the wing and significant scuff marks from the impact, prompting Qantas to temporarily remove the aircraft from service for repairs.

The damaged aircraft will undergo inspections and repairs in Sydney or Melbourne, with plans for a ferry flight without passengers.

While Qantas has not specified the duration of the repair process, they reassured that the tire remained inflated during the flight and did not affect safety.

This incident adds to Boeing's ongoing challenges, as the company has been facing significant image problems due to recent technical issues.

Boeing's reputation has already been severely impacted by a previous incident involving Alaska Airlines, which has led to criminal investigations and a two-week grounding of the 737 Max 9.