Qantas flight forced to turn back thanks to wrong paperwork

Another Qantas flight has been forced to turn back around – making it the sixth incident in just over a week.

Qantas has been faced with its sixth incident in just over a week after another plane was forced to turn back. Picture: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

Qantas has faced its sixth incident in just over a week after another plane was forced to turn back.

Flight QF887 was heading from Adelaide to Perth and was reportedly 45 minutes into its journey on Monday when it was forced to turn around following issues surrounding paperwork.

“Turned around about halfway due to some ‘compliance’ issue, according to a passenger,” one woman tweeted.

News.com.au understands the correct paperwork had not been finalised for the flight.

There were no technical issues with the aircraft.

It is understood that once paperwork was finalised after engineering sign-off in Adelaide, the flight departed Adelaide for Perth and landed four hours after the scheduled arrival time.

It is the sixth aircraft forced to turn back around in over a week, with a another plane issuing a mayday call.

A Qantas flight from Adelaide to Perth was forced to turn back following issues with paperwork. Picture: Nine News

On January 18, a Qantas 737 aircraft travelling from Auckland to Sydney issued a mayday call that was later downgraded to a PAN (possible assistance needed) following an engine failure as it was across the Tasman Sea.

The plane, which had 145 passengers on-board, was able to land safely in Sydney.

The following day on January 19, a Boeing 737 bound for Nadi returned to Sydney after an on-board “fault indicator” about a possible mechanical issue. Flight QF10 was on its way to Fiji when it turned around and landed back in Sydney before 11am.

A Qantas spokesperson said the flight returned to Sydney Airport as a precaution after “pilots received a fault indicator about a potential mechanical issue”.

Engineers are examining the aircraft.

It is understood that once paperwork was finalised after engineering sign-off in Adelaide, the flight departed Adelaide for Perth and landed four hours after the scheduled arrival time. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Jeremy Piper

Meanwhile, three Qantas flights were also diverted on Friday – a QantasLink service from Melbourne to Canberra; a Boeing 737-800 from Melbourne to Sydney; and a flight from Adelaide to Melbourne – due to ‘engine and mechanical’ issues.

On Tuesday, the CEO of Qantas domestic and international, Andrew David, addressed why five flights had been turned back mid-air within a week.

“Let me start by assuring everybody that there are absolutely no issues at Qantas,” he told 2GB host Ben Fordham on Monday.

“If you look around the world, the global aviation industry would average about 10,000 diversions or air turnbacks per year. We average about 60 per year.

“Yes we have had four or five in the last week or so but our pilots are trained to err on the side of caution for any issue.”

A Qantas flight from Fiji to Sydney was forced to turn back mid-flight on Sunday as a precaution after pilots received a report of fumes in the cabin. Picture: Flightradar24.com

Author and former Qantas captain Richard De Crespigny told the Today show on Monday, issues in aviation are common.

“Well, there are five different events. But to be fair and to Qantas, this is sort of a perfect storm of things going on,” he said, adding that “a lot of them are not that important”.

“Things go wrong in aviation all the time. That’s why we have two pilots in the cockpit.

“Things sometimes go wrong and the pilots fix it. This is what we are there for and this is aviation.”

Qantas averages around 60 air turn backs per year out of more than 10,000 across the total industry. Globally, there are an estimated 400 to 500 engine shutdowns across all narrow body jet aircraft per year.

“When they happen at Qantas, we’re proud of how well our people deal with them, and that comes back to our safety record and our commitment to training,” Mr David said in a statement.

“We understand that when you hear reports of planes turning around, it’s concerning.

“But people can be assured that aviation is built on safeguards, and one of those safeguards is that if something isn’t right, we take a conservative approach to the problem rather than pressing on.”

Talking to the five incidents, Mr David said the airline was investigating each and every one to find out what the issues were and to address them.