Qantas Airbus A380
A Qantas Airbus A380.
  • A Qantas flight made a midair U-turn because paperwork wasn't finalized before takeoff.
  • The jet was on its way to Perth from Adelaide before it turned around over the ocean.
  • The flight eventually landed in Perth about four hours late.

A Qantas jet was forced to make a midair U-turn about an hour into a flight because its paperwork hadn't been finalized before it took off.

The plane took off Monday afternoon from Adelaide, south Australia, and was on its three-hour journey to Perth when it turned back over the ocean, according to FlightRadar24, a flight-tracking service.

A person with knowledge of the incident told Insider the correct paperwork wasn't finalized before the flight took off, adding that there were no technical issues with the aircraft.