Qantas is to undergo an investigation into its safety and maintenance operations after the airline suffered its third mid-air emergency in eight days

The probe by Australia's aviation watchdog comes after a hydraulic fuel leak forced a Qantas flight from Sydney to Manila to dump its fuel and return to Sydney on Saturday. Amid increasing concerns over the airline's safety standards, the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) announced that it has formed a special team to look into Qantas's safety systems, maintenance management and incident handling.

"We have no evidence to suggest there are problems within Qantas but we think it's prudent and wise to go in with a new special team and take an additional look at a range of operational issues within Qantas," said CASA spokesman Peter Gibson.

The review, by a team of six CASA safety systems specialists, will be carried out over the next two weeks. Safety standards will be "double and triple checked," said Mr Gibson. The review will be in addition to a safety audit carried out by the aviation authority in June, which found no shortcomings in safety or maintenance.

In the most recent incident at the weekend, air traffic controllers spotted fluid spraying from one of the wings as the plane left Sydney. The pilot circled over the Pacific dumping fuel before making an emergency landing.

Last week a domestic Qantas flight had to return to Adelaide after a wheel bay door failed to close. On July 25 a Qantas 747 flying from London to Melbourne made an emergency landing in the Philippines after a mid-air explosion blew a hole in the fuselage. An exploding oxygen cylinder is thought to be the cause of the blast.

Qantas has welcomed the review, saying it would prove its safety standards. "They're doing their job, which is to make sure people have utter confidence in the safety of Qantas" said David Cox, the airline's head of engineering.

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