More engineering problems for Qantas
Associated Press reported last night that a Melbourne-bound Qantas jet was forced to return to Adelaide’s airport Monday night after a door above the one of the wheels failed to close, Australian media reported Tuesday.
Civil Aviation Safety Authority spokesman Peter Gibson told The Daily Telegraph the aircraft’s wheels came up after takeoff but the undercarriage door would not retract — a malfunction he deemed on the “lower end” of the danger scale.
“This aircraft was not in danger at any stage — it was more of an aerodynamics issue than anything else because it would have created a lot of drag,” Gibson told the newspaper.
“The pilot would have had to have made a judgment call, like he was trained to do, and he decided to bring the flight back to Adelaide, which was the safer option.”
Passenger Rocco Russo told Australian Broadcasting Corp. Radio that he heard a rattling noise about 10 minutes after the plane took off.
Qantas did not respond to multiple phone calls and an e-mail seeking comment early Tuesday morning.
One passenger, Gunter Kubler of South Africa, told The Telegraph he was too scared to fly to Melbourne after the incident.
“It was absolute chaos on the plane and then they had to turn it around and bring it back to Adelaide,” he said.
“They had to bring in another plane to fly people back, but I don’t trust them so I will take a bus or a train to Melbourne.”
Gibson said he expects a report from the airline within the next couple of days.
The incident comes just three days after a Qantas jumbo jet made an emergency landing in the Philippines with a hole the size a small car in its fuselage and the announcement of the appointment of Alan Joyce as CEO to succeed Geoff Dixon.
A Report by The Mole from AP
John Alwyn-Jones
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
Qatar Airways offers reduced timetable to over 60 destinations
Hands In, UATP join forces for airline multi-card payments
AirlineRatings reveals world's safest airline rankings for 2026
Vietnam warns airlines of possible flight reductions amid jet fuel shortages
Fliggy opens AI-powered travel bookings and developer tools