Qantas Boeing 737 turns back in third flight mishap in three days

A domestic Qantas flight has turned back due to engine troubles, the third midair mishap in as many days for Australia’s national carrier.

The QF430 flight from Melbourne to Sydney departed about 9.40am on Friday before turning around near Bonnie Doon in Victoria about 10 minutes into its journey.

The Boeing 737 touched down safely at Tullamarine Airport a short time later.

In a statement, Qantas said the plane returned to Melbourne as a precaution after the pilots were alerted to a minor engine issue.

“Customers will be reaccommodated on the next available flights over the next few hours,” it said.

“The aircraft landed normally – this was not an emergency or priority landing. Both engines remained operational throughout the flight.”

It comes after a Qantas service from Auckland to Sydney was forced to issue a mayday following an engine shutdown on Wednesday and another service from Sydney to Fiji turned back over potential mechanical troubles on Thursday.

Transport safety investigators have since confirmed they will analyse the Auckland to Sydney flight’s cockpit voice recorder and flight data after the engine failure.