Qantas drama continues: Q400 returns to Sydney due to landing gear fault

QantasLink Dehavilland DHC-8
Ryan Fletcher / Shutterstock

A QantasLink Dash 8-400 Q400 turboprop aircraft returned to Sydney in Australia after suffering an issue with its landing gear mid-flight.

The incident took place on January 29, 2023, when the De Havilland Canada DHC-8 of Qantas Airways subsidiary QantasLink was operating scheduled domestic passenger flight QF2104 from Sydney (SYD) to Coffs Harbour (CFS).

According to flight history found on Flightradar24.com, the plane took off from SYD airport at 3.52 p.m. (UTC) but returned to the same airport around 50 minutes after departure.

This was due to a suspected landing gear issue which was discovered by the flight crew half an hour after the turboprop, registered VH-LQF, left Sydney. Following the airline’s procedures, the pilots circled the plane several times over the Tasman Sea aiming to burn fuel before it was able to perform a safe landing at SYD airport.

At 4.53 p.m. the turboprop returned to the airport of departure for a safety inspection. No further incidents or injuries were reported.

A growing list of Qantas aircraft incidents in January 2023

Qantas aircraft have been involved in at least seven incidents as of January 2023. 

The most recent, which took place on January 24, 2023, involved a Qantas Airbus A330 operating flight QF887 between Perth Airport (PER) and Adelaide International Airport (ADL). The aircraft returned to the airport of departure 45 minutes into the flight after the pilots discovered issues with the flight paperwork. 

Another incident was recorded on January 22, when the carrier’s Boeing 737 jet, which was performing flight QF102, returned to Sydney (SYD) as a precaution after pilots received a report of fumes in the cabin.

On January 20, the airline’s Boeing 717 aircraft experienced issues with its flaps and was forced to turn back to Melbourne Airport (MEL). The same day another Qantas plane, a Boeing 737, departed Melbourne and was bound for Sydney for flight QF430, but was forced to circled back after the flight crew received an indication of a minor engine issue shortly after takeoff. 

The day before, flight QF101, operated by another Boeing 737 plane, returned to Sydney after pilots received a warning about a potential mechanical issue. Meanwhile, on January 18, a Boeing 737 experienced a rare engine failure while on flight QF144, which meant the pilot had to land with one engine at Auckland (AKL) airport.

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