Qantas flight to Fiji from Sydney suffers midair mechanical issue, 2nd in 2 days

Qantas Flight Mechanical Issue: This comes just a day after a Qantas jet issued a mayday alert due to engine trouble while it was en route from Auckland on Wednesday.

A Qantas Airways flight to Fiji turned back to Sydney with a possible mechanical problem, it was reported. This comes just a day after a Qantas jet issued a mayday alert due to engine trouble while it was en route from Auckland on Wednesday.

Qantas Flight Mechanical Issue: A Qantas Airways Ltd. flight to Fiji turned back to Sydney.(Representational)

The flight returned to Sydney after pilots received a fault indicator about a potential mechanical issue, Qantas said in a statement, adding that the crew followed standard procedure and the aircraft landed normally. Qantas said engine shutdowns are rare, but pilots are trained to manage them safely and Boeing 737s can fly on one engine.

“While in-flight engine shutdowns are rare, and would naturally be concerning for passengers, our pilots are trained to manage them safely and aircraft are designed to fly for an extended period on one engine,” Qantas said.

The flight was the most tracked worldwide with over 135,000 people following its progress as it approached Sydney, FlightRadar24 data showed.

This comes in a week during which 71 people were killed when a Yeti Airlines' aircraft with 72 onboard crashed into Seti river gorge while landing at the Pokhara airport in Nepal. One person on board the aircraft is still missing as search operations continued.