The main fighting at Sydney Airport overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday. Ambulances were driven to the runways. A Qantas flight had sent out an in-flight distress signal.
Ambulances were rushed to Sydney Airport on Wednesday after a Qantas plane arrived and sent out an in-flight distress signal. Flight QF144 from Auckland, New Zealand, had more than 100 passengers on board, according to a spokeswoman for paramedics.
The plane, a Boeing 737-800, eventually landed safely on a runway at Sydney Airport, according to footage from public broadcaster ABC. New South Wales state paramedics were previously called in as part of an emergency response plan after the plane sent a distress signal as it flew over the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand.
A Qantas flight from Auckland has landed mid-flight at Sydney Airport after a mayday call.
Read more: https://t.co/5blREtaCeL pic.twitter.com/rhUxHGGdik
— SBS News (@SBSNews) January 18, 2023
Soft landing for @Qantas Flight #QF144 at Sydney Airport after earlier making an 911 call, allegedly about an engine failure en route from Auckland. pic.twitter.com/6Je0Gr9saa
— Tyson Whelan (@tyson_whelan) January 18, 2023
A mid-air emergency over the Tasman Sea sparked a full-scale response at Sydney Airport this afternoon. Qantas Flight QF 144 issued an emergency call when a Boeing 737 engine failed | @alicemhogg pic.twitter.com/N7NMNywxvb
— 10 News First Sydney (@10NewsFirstSyd) January 18, 2023
A problem with one of the engines
Several Australian media reported that the plane had problems with one of its engines. The Boeing 737-800 model has two and can land safely with just one.
According to the Australian Government’s Aviation Inspectorate, a distress signal indicates that an “aircraft is in imminent serious danger and requires immediate assistance”.