A Malaysia Airlines flight which was forced to turn around because of an auto-pilot defect, has landed safely.

Flight MH198 from Kuala Lumpur to Hyderabad, India, departed late on Saturday, but the Boeing 737-800 turned back due to an auto-pilot defect.

A Malaysia Airlines B737-800. A similar aircraft was involved in the latest incident Credit:WikiMedia Commons

It landed back in Malaysia's capital almost four hours later after circling to burn fuel in the air.

"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," the national flag carrier said in a statement.