A double-decker plane, flight QF32 bound for Sydney from Singapore, was carrying 433 passengers and 26 crew when it ran into trouble shortly after take-off and had to return to the city-state’s Changi Airport leaving a trail of smoke.

No one was injured during the emergency landing after the plane experienced "significant" engine failure six minutes after take off. Qantas said the Airbus A380’s second engine had ‘‘shut down’’.

Following the dramatic mid-air explosion of an Qantas A380 engine, the airline has grounded the entire fleet of its largest aircraft. Two A380 flights from Los Angeles would be grounded tonight, as would one in Sydney.

Speaking in Sydney late this afternoon about today's incident, Qanta's chief executive officer, Alan Joyce, said the aircraft and its engine were new. ''We have decided that we will suspend all A380 takeoffs until we are fully comfortable that sufficient information has been obtained about QF32,'' he said. ''We will suspend those A380 services until we are completely confident that Qantas safety requirements have been met.''