The Qatari Airways aircraft had been en route to Doha from Istanbul when it experienced problems. Initial reports suggest the flight QR240 caught fire during take-off on Thursday just after midday, local time.
The Airbus 300 was forced to make an emergency landing, returning to Istanbul's Ataturk Airport, in Turkey. Reports claim there was a explosion as the plane was taking off, forcing the pilot to quickly return to the airport.The passengers have disembarked as normal. The pilot followed all QR safety procedures. "
But an airport official has countered local media reports of a fire, and claimed the plane's landing gear failed to retract after take-off.They could not confirm whether a fire had broken out despite smoke spotted on footage.