A small body panel has fallen off a Qantas Jumbo jet on its way to Singapore from Melbourne.
A spokeswoman for Qantas says routine checks on the Boeing 747 after it arrived at Singapore's Changi Airport early this morning found that a small engine access panel had become detached.
"It had absolutely no flight safety implications," the spokeswoman said.
The access panel, which was "non-structural", was replaced and the flight continued to London after a delay of just under six hours.
The incident is the latest in a series of aircraft problems for Qantas.
This morning a Qantas flight from Brisbane to Melbourne was delayed by more than half an hour because of a technical problem.
On Wednesday night, a Qantas Boeing 767 experienced a hydraulic failure which affected the plane's steering as it landed at Sydney airport.
The plane left a trail of hydraulic fluid as it touched down on its way from Melbourne, forcing the closure of the runway for 40 minutes while the spill was mopped up.
Last month an explosion ripped a hole in the fuselage of a Qantas jet en route from Hong Kong to Melbourne, forcing an emergency landing at Manila. AAP
15th August 2008, 11:17 AM
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