Qantas flight QF144 from Auckland to Sydney lands safely after reported engine failure. Photo / Supplied / 9News
Qantas flight QF144 from Auckland to Sydney lands safely after reported engine failure. Photo / Supplied / 9News
A flight from Auckland to Sydney has landed safely after issuing a mayday call over the Tasman Sea, while passengers have recalled a “large bang” and praised the crew.
It followed a reported engine failure on the twin-engined Boeing 737-838 aircraft.
The Qantas flight QF144, with more than 100 people on board, left Auckland at 2.30pm (NZT) and landed in Sydney at about 5.25pm.
A Qantas spokesperson said the flight “experienced an issue with one of its engines about an hour from its destination”.
“While a mayday was initially issued, this was downgraded to a PAN (urgency signal).”
They said the aircraft landed safely and is now being inspected by engineers.
“The 145 passengers onboard disembarked the aircraft normally. While inflight engine shutdowns are rare, and would naturally be concerning for passengers, our pilots are trained to manage them safely and aircraft are designed to fly for an extended period on one engine.”
Speaking to Australia’s 9 News, passenger Vonnie Wavish said airline staff did a great job.
“About halfway across we heard a large bang but nobody seemed to be worried,” Wavish said.
Passengers also told the Sydney Morning Herald they felt a “slight shudder” as the engine stopped before the crew notified them of a “slight malfunction”.
However, they said they were not aware of a mayday call until the plane landed.
“We didn’t realise it was the whole engine [that had] gone,” Simone Schmidt said. “The pilot was really, really good, just brilliant.”
A Sydney Airport spokesperson earlier told Newstalk ZB emergency services, including fire, police and ambulance were on standby as a precaution.
A mayday call is made when the aircraft is in a condition of being threatened by serious and/or imminent danger and is requiring immediate assistance, according to the Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand.
Image / Flight Radar
Independent aviation expert Irene King told the Herald pilots are “absolutely trained” in landing this type of aircraft with one engine, although of course, it will be “less than desirable.”
She said it was ideal that the aircraft is landing at Sydney airport as it’s common for most pilots to have already landed here so will be familiar, and the path is relatively straight.
More than 130,000 people were tracking QF144 on Flight Radar as it approached Sydney, which was the most tracked flight in the world at the time.
