Another Qantas jet makes emergency landing

A Qantas passenger plane bound for Melbourne was forced to turn back to Adelaide airport for an emergency landing after reporting a mechanical problem, three days after a plane from the same airline had to land in the Philippines with a hole in its fuselage.

Local news reports said the pilot told passengers there was a problem with a landing-gear door above the plane’s wheel. It failed to retract shortly after the Boeing 737-800 took off from Adelaide for Melbourne yesterday. A Qantas spokeswoman said last night that there was no risk to passengers’ safety during the “routine air turnback”.

On Friday, a Melbourne-bound Qantas jumbo which had just taken off from Hong Kong was forced to make an emergency landing in Manila. When the Boeing 747-400 landed, a hole up to 2m across was discovered in its fuselage.

Investigators yesterday found fragments that appear to bolster the theory that an oxygen tank exploded on board.