Two flights by Qantas-owned airlines are under investigation by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau after separate safety incidents.
Two Qantas pilots have been stood down following an incident at Sydney Airport where they failed to lower their plane's landing gear as it approached the runway.
The incident, confirmed by the airline today, occurred on October 26 on a Melbourne-Sydney flight.
The plane reportedly got as low as 700 feet on its approach to the airport before the pilots realised their error and began 'go around' procedures.
The pilots also received a audio cockpit alert warning them with the words “gear too low”.
In a statement, Qantas said it was taking the incident seriously.
"The flight crew knew all required procedures but there was a brief communications breakdown," the airline said.
"They responded quickly to the situation and instigated a 'go around'. The cockpit alert coincided with their actions. There was no flight-safety issue."
Qantas confirmed that the pilots had been stood down and said further action may be taken after investigations by the airline and the ATSB.
In a second incident, an international Jetstar flight has experienced problems with one of its airspeed indicators - the same instrument which may have contributed to an Air France jet crash over the Atlantic, which killed 228 people in June.
Jetstar flight JQ12 was carrying 200 passengers between Tokyo and the Gold Coast last Thursday when there was a momentary fluctuation in one of three airspeed indicators.
Jetstar confirmed the incident today, saying the crew remained "in full control" of the Airbus 330-200 at all times and, after consulting Jetstar operations in Melbourne, landed without incident on the Gold Coast.
"The technical crew reported a momentary fluctuation of one of the aircraft's three airspeed indicators," a Jetstar spokeswoman said in a statement.
"The related indication lasted for a number of seconds and then returned to normal."
Passengers would not have been aware of the incident, the spokeswoman said.
"Early indications are that a component of the airspeed-sensing system suffered a momentary interruption, after which the aircraft systems returned to normal," she said.
"The aircraft systems acted as designed."
The aircraft was kept on the Gold Coast overnight where "certain parts" were replaced and detailed checks undertaken, the spokeswoman said. It is now back in service.
The European Aviation Safety Agency in August ordered airlines to replace airspeed probes made by the French group Thales on Airbus A330 and A340 aircraft after one provided incoherent readings to the Air France jet on its doomed flight from Rio de Janeiro to Paris, AFP reported.
Barry Jackson, president of the Australian and International Pilots Association, told Radio 3AW today Australian aircraft do not use the Thales make of probes.
Jetstar spokesman Simon Westaway said the JQ12 event did not include any messages associated with aircraft flight control faults.
He said the A330 had "multiple back-up systems and these, along with pilot procedures, meant there was no flight safety issue".
Jetstar, the Civil Aviation Safety Authority and the Australian Transport Safety Bureau are investigating last week's incident.
The airline is also liaising with Airbus on the issue, the spokeswoman said.
theage.com.au
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