Qantas flight from Sydney to Coffs Harbour is forced to turn back

A QantasLink flight from Sydney to Coffs Harbour has been turned back after experiencing a landing gear problem, following a run of similar issues for the carrier.

About 10 minutes into the flight the pilot asked for clearance to turn around and return to Sydney Airport, landing safely just after 5pm on Sunday. 

Earlier this month, a Qantas plane travelling from Auckland to Sydney issued a mayday after one engine failed over the Tasman. While, just a day later, another flight headed for Fiji had to turn around due to a ‘mechanical issue’, with both planes also arriving safely. 

Qantas domestic chief executive Andrew David previously downplayed the issues, saying the airline averaged only about 60 turnbacks a year out of 10,000 across the industry.

He added there were an estimated 400 to 500 engine shutdowns a year across all narrow body jet aircraft around the world, and Qantas’ shutdown rate on the 737 was ‘well below the industry average’.

‘It’s important to put these things in context. Across aviation, there are diversions and air turn backs happening every day for a range of reasons,’ he said.