Big bang, sparks on Jetstar flight

Passengers have told of their terror after a Jetstar plane appeared to catch fire in midair after a "loud bang".

Jason Bush, 34, who was sitting behind the wing of the plane bound for Darwin, said he was shocked to see sparks flying for up to two minutes.

"We were a bit worried about the fuel line catching on fire because there were that many sparks and we thought if that happened we might not be here to tell the story," Mr Bush told the Northern Territory News.

A Jetstar spokesman said the Airbus A320, carrying 163 passengers, experienced engine trouble on the Monday night flight. There was no fire, although passengers would have seen sparks.

The pilot shut down one of the two engines and the Darwin-bound jet returned to Adelaide.

A person on board said passengers on the right side of the plane "were saying a big flame came from the right engine, then all the lights on the right wing stopped working".