New photo reveals damage to Qantas flight after midair mayday call

Qantas flight QF144 from Auckland to Sydney lands safely after reported engine failure. Photo / Supplied / 9News

New photos of the broken engine that forced Qantas pilots to issue a mayday call mid-flight reveal the extent of the damage, while passengers praised them for the safe landing.

Firefighters and paramedics rushed to be on standby at Sydney airport after the emergency alert was issued by flight QF144, which had 145 passengers onboard, about 2.10pm near the end of its flight from Auckland.

The alert was later downgraded to a PAN – possible assistance needed.

The Boeing 737-838 made a safe landing on the tarmac, in Mascot, in Sydney’s eastern suburbs just before 3.30pm.

Passengers were smiling as they came through departures.

One woman, who was visiting from the UK via New Zealand, told NCA NewsWire the pilot communicated with passengers about an “engine problem” but not that they had issued a mayday call.

Investigators are now trying to figure out what happened to the engine midflight. Photo / Twitter

Pictures have revealed the damage to the plane from the engine failure.

Passenger Nigel Morris said: “We didn’t know anything at the time but we’re here safe.

“When they said we could turn on our phones, I turned on my phone and my wife had called about 18 times.

“It’s a debate about whether it’s better to know or not to know.”

Other travellers said after landing they heard a “bang” and a “few gasps”.

One couple told the NewsWire: “We didn’t realise the whole engine had gone, we just heard a bang and that was it.

“There were a few gasps when they told us on the actual runway, but we had already landed.”

Fiona Dunn, another passenger on the flight, said she was made aware of the incident before landing and said she was “pretty panicked”.

“I was just trying to work out the logistics of whether it could fly on one engine alone.”

She praised the actions of the pilot and crew in keeping passengers safe.

“The aircon was gone so it was pretty hot in the plane but besides that the captain stayed cool, calm and collected”

Another passenger Leslie Spring said: “It was a little bit bumpy but it was just like turbulence, if they hadn’t have told us we wouldn’t have known.”

The Boeing 737-838 has twin engines but can fly on just one.

A Qantas spokesman said: “Qantas Flight 144, a 737 flying from Auckland to Sydney, experienced an issue with one of its engines about an hour from its destination.

“While a mayday was initially issued, this has now been downgraded to a PAN [possible assistance needed].”

The spokesman said more information would be made available once the aircraft had been assessed by engineers.

The Australian and International Pilots Association said this kind of incident is “extremely rare”.

“We are pleased the expertly trained and professional Qantas pilots took all the right steps to deal with the incident and were able to safely land back in Sydney,” the organisation said in a statement.

“The priority of any pilot is the welfare of our passengers and crew.

“It’s too early to speculate on the cause of the engine failure.”