A Ryanair flight to Glasgow was forced to return to Dublin Airport this morning after developing an oil leak on take-off.
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Ryanair chief executive Mr Michael O’Leary
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None of the 123 passengers aboard flight FR-772 was hurt in the incident.
The oil leak is the second safety scare on a Ryanair flight this week and the fourth incident in the last ten days.
Company chief executive Mr Michael O'Leary told ireland.comthe frequency of these incidents was "not unusual" when put in the context of a busy schedule of 300 flights taking off every day or 9,000 flights a month.
Mr O’Leary said he is "very happy" with Ryanair’s safety record. He said this morning’s flight could have gone on to Glasgow but Ryanair’s strict observance of safety procedures meant the plane had to return to the ground.
A spokesperson for the Aviation Authority responded to the incident by saying "these things happen". She said instances such as today’s oil leak were "not unusual or uncommon".
She confirmed to ireland.comthat the Irish Aviation Authority does not keep a database of reported safety scares such as today's.
The Authority, which does not perform safety checks on individual aircraft, said maintenance and safety checks are carried out by private companies hired by airlines. Reporting of potential safety incidents is the responsibility of the airlines.
The Irish Aviation Authority spokesperson said Ryanair has a good safety record and there was "no question mark over their safety procedures".
On Wednesday, emergency services at Manchester Airport were put on full alert when two tyres burst on a Ryanair flight landing from Dublin.
On Thursday last week a Ryanair plane was forced to make an emergency landing at Dublin Airport after suffering engine failure en route to London Stansted.
In a separate incident a number of Ryanair passengers were stranded in Paris after the scheduled evening flight from Beauvais was delayed because of "technical difficulties."