Australian PM's ageing gov't jets unsafe to fly: media

The Australian prime minister could soon be in the market for new government jets, following a dangerous incident that occurred while on official business earlier this month, local press reported on Monday.

News Corp reported on Monday that the Tony Abbott had to abandon the government's airplane after the pilots yet again declared it unsafe to fly on Aug. 21.

Concerns for the prime minister's safety has been raised after Abbott and his entourage were forced to take a commercial flight from Sydney to Perth, after pilot found a crack in the windscreen of the government's Boeing Business Jet (BBJ).

The incident is the third involving a cracked windscreen on one of the two Boeing jets used for official government travel.

In 2014, Abbott was unable to fly overseas on the prime ministerial plane after pilots found a crack just before take-off. Experts have warned that if cracks appear in-flight or aren't found before taking off, depressurization at high altitudes could occur, spelling catastrophe in the air.

The Boeing Business Jets, closely related to the Boeing 737, are slightly more than 10 years old and -- according to News Corp - - the lease on the two airplanes was thought to have initially expired in 2014.

The jets are primarily used to transport the prime minister, governor-general and other high-ranking government ministers to official business around the country and overseas.

The original lease on the two Boeings was signed by then-PM John Howard in 2002 as a replacement for the government's Boeing 707s.

Most recently in 2013, Julia Gillard's Labor government conducted an initial search to replace the ageing fleet, even going so far as to inspect new planes as part of a process to phase out the BBJs.

However, the idea was canned before the federal election later that year. Endi