Second Qantas jet returns to Singapore after engine trouble

By the CNN Wire Staff

November 5, 2010 -- Updated 1721 GMT (0121 HKT)

(CNN) -- A Qantas passenger jet landed safely in Singapore on Friday after turning back due to engine problems shortly after takeoff, Australian Transport Safety Bureau spokesman Neville Blyth told CNN.

"I saw flames five minutes into flight and we could see flames through the left-side window," said passenger Terence Sim.

It is the second Qantas jet in two days to return to Singapore as a result of engine trouble.

In Friday's incident, the Boeing 747-400 was carrying 412 passengers and 19 crew members and was headed to Sydney, Australia, according to a Qantas spokesman, who would not provide his name, citing company policy.

On Thursday, a Qantas Airbus A380 jet made an emergency landing at Changi Airport after one of its four engines shut down as it started a flight to Sydney. As the plane headed back to the airport, part of the engine's covering, or cowling, tore off.

Airbus announced Friday that it asked all operators of A380s with Rolls-Royce engines to inspect them as a precaution.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau says it has deployed investigators to examine the cause of Thursday's engine failure on the Airbus A380 and is currently gathering more information regarding Friday's incident.

None of the passengers aboard the Boeing 747-400 also had been aboard the Airbus A380, according to the Qantas spokesman.