A Qantas Airways Boeing 737 landed in Sydney after an engine failed and the plane issued an emergency call on Wednesday.
A single-engine Qantas Airways plane landed safely in Australia on Wednesday after making an emergency call while overflying the Pacific Ocean.
Qantas Flight 144, a 145-passenger Boeing 737-838, had “a problem” with one of its two engines while it was an hour from Sydney, the airline said in a statement to The Associated Press. The plane took off from Auckland, New Zealand.
“Thank God we’re here. We deeply thank the captain for his professionalism. Thank God,” a passenger told reporters gathered at Sydney Airport after the plane’s arrival.
A passenger reported hearing a “bang” in the air before landing.
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A Qantas jet is parked on the tarmac next to fire engines at Sydney International Airport after making an emergency landing in Sydney on Wednesday January 18. (Jeremy Ng/AAP Image via AP / AP Images)
“We didn’t realize that the whole engine had actually failed, we just heard a bang and that was it,” she said.
Qantas said the pilot shut down the malfunctioning engine but did not specify the problem.
| ticker | security | Last | To change | To change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| QABSY | QANTAS AIRWAYS | 22.98 | +0.18 | +0.79% |
The mayday call from the plane, which is issued when a flight is in serious and imminent danger and needs immediate assistance, was downgraded to a PAN-PAN — help may be needed — before landing, the Associated Press reported.
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Qantas Flight 144 was able to land safely in Sydney, Australia on Wednesday after one of its engines failed. (Image credit: AuBC)
Passengers hug loved ones after disembarking Qantas Flight 144 upon its arrival in Sydney, Australia. (APTN/AuBC/AP images)
“While in-flight engine shutdowns are rare and would obviously be of concern to passengers, our pilots are trained to manage them safely and aircraft are designed to fly on one engine for extended periods,” Qantas said.
Other passengers described their experience of the engine malfunction as “slight shaking” and “bumpy turbulence”.
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Qantas Flight 144 lands in Sydney, Australia on Wednesday 18th January following the engine failure. (Portal / Portal photos)
Sydney Airport said emergency crews were put on standby as a precaution, including firefighters, ambulances and police.
FOX Business has reached out to Qantas Airlines and Boeing for further comment.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.