Qantas suffers mechanical issue for third day in a row

Taking off at 9:28am this morning, Qantas flight QF430 turned around after only reaching Bonnie Doon roughly 10 minutes into its flight and returned to Melbourne Airport at 10:18am.

The plane was yet another 737-800, registration VH-VXP.

According to a spokeswoman from Qantas, the cause of the turnaround was a “minor engine issue.”

“Customers will be reaccommodated [sic] on the next available flights over the next few hours,” she said.

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

This is the third day in a row Qantas has suffered incidents with its 737s.

Only two days ago, Qantas flight QF144 from Auckland to Sydney issued a mayday alert citing engine failure.

The alert was quickly downgraded to a PAN (possible assistance needed). The plane landed safely at Sydney Airport, where emergency services and airport staff were waiting. None of the 145 passengers were harmed.

Aviation safety inspectors and Qantas engineers have launched an investigation into the failure.

Then only yesterday, flight QF101 from Sydney to Fiji was forced to turn around due to a mechanical fault.

The plane, VH-VZQ, was back in operation the same night, according to FlightRadar.