A tornado screamed across the tarmac at Brisbane International Airport on Friday, pounding an aircraft worth US$300 million parked in its path.
Footage from the airport at the time shows the 250-tonne aircraft being pushed, twisted, and at times lifted off the ground by the strong winds.
In a short video taken by a passenger in the terminal, the plane is seen being lifted off its front gear and shifted into the side of ground equipment attached to the aircraft.
The aircraft with registration VH-ZND had been on the tarmac in Brisbane for two days after arriving from Los Angeles and was going through preparations for its next flight when the storm hit.
While there were no passengers onboard the Qantas Boeing 787 Dreamliner, many others on the tarmac had been boarded and were ready to depart. But the intense weather meant it was unsafe to attempt to remove any passengers, leaving them onboard for up to three hours as the weather passed.
In one video posted on social media, a passenger can be heard asking if anyone has an umbrella, suggesting it could get them to their destination faster than any jet given the strong winds outside.
The Qantas Dreamliner videoed getting hit by the tornado is one of the airline's most iconic. It's painted in 'Yam Dreaming' livery, which consists of 60,000 individual dots.
The aircraft could be out of service for some time as engineers inspect the fuselage for any serious cracks or bends caused by the strong winds.
