Two more Qantas flights turned back to Melbourne Airport on Friday
By Callum Godde
Two Qantas flights turned back to Melbourne Airport on Friday, adding up to four midair mishaps in three days for Australia’s national carrier.
QF430 from Melbourne to Sydney departed about 9.40am, turning around near Bonnie Doon in Victoria 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 re-accommodated 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.”
Also this morning, a QantasLink flight bound for Canberra returned to Melbourne as a precaution after mechanical issues.
“We will always err on the side of caution rather than pressing on,” Andrew David, chief executive of Qantas Domestic and International, told Nine News. “We will divert if we do have an issue.”
The turnbacks come after a Qantas service from Auckland to Sydney issued 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 will analyse the cockpit voice recorder and flight data of QF144, the Boeing 737 Auckland-to-Sydney flight. The pilot shut down the engine and made a mayday call over the Tasman before landing safely at Sydney Airport.
Passengers reported turbulence on the flight but said they were unaware of a mayday alert until they landed.
AAP
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