Malaysia Airlines Plane Turns Back After Autopilot Defect, Lands Without Incident

A Malaysia Airlines flight was forced to return to its point of origin shortly after takeoff due to an autopilot defect.

The flight, from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to Hyderabad, India landed safely early Sunday, nearly four hours after take-off, after circling to burn off fuel.

In a statement, the airline said “The defect did not have any impact on the safety of the aircraft or passengers. However, as a precautionary measure, the operating captain decided to turn back.”

Malaysia Airlines rejected claims on social media that there had been a fire on board, adding in a statement that the aircraft landed "uneventfully." The flight was rescheduled for later Sunday, according to a report from NBC News.

Malaysia Airlines has been reeling from the impact of twin air disasters this year. Flight MH370 went missing with 239 people on board on Mar. 8. The search for the missing aircraft has resumed in the Southern Indian Ocean after a 6-month delay.

Another flight, MH17, crashed over war-torn eastern Ukraine on July 17, killing all 289 people on board. A report released by Dutch investigators this week said that the flight crashed because a "large number of high-energy objects" punctured the jet's fuselage. Western countries have speculated that the plane was shot down by pro-Russian rebels. Russia denies this.

The company is going through a major restructing in order to try and stay in business, and is considering a rebrand.