The Australian Transport Safety Bureau is investigating an incident in which a Singapore Airlines flight approached Canberra Airport below the lowest safe altitude.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
There were no injuries and the Boeing 777 was not damaged in the incident at 9.10am on February 22.
It occurred just one day after a light aircraft suffered engine failure and crashed into a Melbourne shopping centre shortly after take-off, killing all five people aboard.
A Singapore Airlines spokesman confirmed the investigation and said the airline was cooperating.
ATSB senior transport safety investigator Neil Campbell said the aviation authority would review blackbox recordings and radio traffic between the flight crew and Canberra's air traffic control.
A report will be released within several months.
University of New South Wales aviation school head Professor Jason Middleton said there could be many reasons why a plane might approach below the minimum height.
Mr Middleton said the lowest altitude was typically set relative to the environment and was at least 1000 feet above the highest obstacle.
"The lowest safe altitude always has a significant margin built into it," he said.
"Even if an aeroplane does break lowest safe altitude, if they're on track, they're still not endangering anyone."
Singapore Airlines declined to comment on how many people were aboard.
The Boeing 777-200 has a capacity of 266 passengers.
