Qantaslink DH8D near Townsville on Apr 20th 2026, rudder problems

Last Update: April 20, 2026 / 19:43:04 GMT/Zulu time

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Incident Facts

Date of incident
Apr 20, 2026

Classification
Incident

Airline
Qantaslink

Flight number
QF-2472

Departure
Townsville, Australia

Destination
Mount Isa, Australia

Aircraft Registration
VH-QOW

Aircraft Type
De Havilland Dash 8 (400)

ICAO Type Designator
DH8D

A Qantaslink de Havilland Dash 8-400 on behalf of Qantas, registration VH-QOW performing flight QF-2472 from Townsville,QL to Mount Isa,QL (Australia), was enroute at FL240 about 170nm west of Townsville when the crew decided to return to Townsville. The aircraft entered a hold at FL240 for about 30 minutes, then continued to Townsville and landed safely on Townsville's runway 19 about 2 hours after departure.

Passengers reported the crew initially told them about a few technical issues, but then explained the gravity of the situation, the passengers needed to brace for landing.

Qantas reported the aircraft suffered a problem with the rudder but landed safely.

The aircraft is still on the ground in Townsville about 21 hours after landing back.
Incident Facts

Date of incident
Apr 20, 2026

Classification
Incident

Airline
Qantaslink

Flight number
QF-2472

Departure
Townsville, Australia

Destination
Mount Isa, Australia

Aircraft Registration
VH-QOW

Aircraft Type
De Havilland Dash 8 (400)

ICAO Type Designator
DH8D

This article is published under license from Avherald.com. © of text by Avherald.com.
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