Jetstar flight hit by mechanical problem

A JETSTAR Airbus has been forced to return to Brisbane due to a mechanical problem soon after take off. A hydraulic system malfunctioned on the Airbus A320 early into the flight to Mackay around 4pm yesterday, Jetstar's head of corporate relations, Simon Westaway, said.

"We had a burst of hydraulic fluid," he said. "One of the systems was losing hydraulic fluid. "For safety reasons, the flight returned to Brisbane. "It was a standard return and the aircraft was under full control of the pilot at all times."

The flight, JQ 888, landed without incident, and none of the 164 passengers was injured. They are being put on alternative flights and Jetstar was to put on an extra service to Mackay tonight.

Mr Westaway said the A320s have three hydraulic systems and investigations are under way to discover which one failed. He said it could have been the landing gear.

Mr Westaway said the incident should be kept in perspective, especially in light of recent issues Jetstar's parent company Qantas has had with its A380s this month. "Safety is paramount and we operate very safe operations," Mr Westaway he said.

Qantas grounded its flagship Airbus A380 long-range aircraft after an engine exploded on a flight from Singapore to Sydney on November 4.

Since then a Qantas Boeing 747 on its way to Argentina was forced to return to Sydney after smoke was released into the cockpit and a domestic flight from Perth to Melbourne had to return after flight crew became aware of a vibration in one engine of the Boeing 767.

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