Flight to Sydney Carrying More Than 100 Passengers Makes Mayday Call Citing Engine Failure over Pacific Ocean
AQantas Flight has made a mayday call while travelling across the Pacific Ocean with reports that it has suffered an engine malfunction. It is currently carrying over 100 passengers.
The flight later landed safely in Sydney airport. The Boeing 737 left New Zealand’s Auckland an hour late at about 2:30pm local time. According to a report by the Guardian, the flight is capable of landing with a single engine.
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The Guardian in its report said that the flight radar data revealed that the plane lost altitude and speed during the flight. A spokesperson from Qantas said that the flight experienced ‘an issue with one of its engines’.
The spokesperson minutes before the landing said that the plane would land in Sydney in line with standard procedure. Emergency services awaited the arrival of the plane, news agencies reported earlier.
Qantas said that the mayday call was issued initially but it has now been downgraded to a PAN (possible assistance needed) level. “We will share more information about this incident once the aircraft is on the ground and has been assessed by our engineers,’ the spokesperson told the news outlet.
Journalist Ted Perton, affiliated to aviation news outlet SamChui, tweeted photos of the flight and said no passengers were evacuated and there was no visible smoke on the exterior of the aircraft.
Perton also tweeted photos of the plane while it was taxiing into the gate and also of engineers inspecting the engine.
The New South Wales Ambulance were present at the Sydney airport to receive the passengers and the flight crew. According to a report by New Zealand-based media outlet Stuff.co.nz, the ambulance staff did not find any dangerous goods inside the plane.
(this is a developing story)
