SYDNEY (Reuters) -A Qantas Airways plane bound for Brisbane suffered an engine failure after take-off on Friday and circled for a short period of time before returning safely to Sydney Airport, the Australian airline said. Passengers heard a loud bang from one of the aircraft's two engines, Australian media reported.

Firefighters at Sydney Airport have found small pieces of metal in long grass near the runway where a Qantas flight suffered an engine failure, triggering a grassfire.

Qantas said in a statement on Friday that there had been a "contained engine failure" on the Boeing 737-800 aircraft.