Sydney, Jan. 18 (BNA): A Qantas flight from New Zealand to Sydney has landed safely after issuing a distress call after an engine problem over the Pacific Ocean on Wednesday.
Qantas Flight 144 has landed at Sydney Airport from Auckland, New Zealand, after a 3.5-hour flight between the neighboring countries’ most populous cities, according to the Associated Press.
The Boeing 737 experienced a problem with one of its engines about an hour from Sydney, Qantas told Australia Broadcasting Corp. in a statement.
The Mayhem Day rating, which is issued when a flight is in grave and imminent danger and immediate assistance is required, was downgraded to PAN-PAN—Potential Assistance Needed—before the flight landed.
Passengers told reporters in Sydney that they were told when they left the plane that one of the engines had failed.
They described their experience with the engine failure as a “slight jolt” and “bump-like turbulence”.
Sydney Airport said in a statement that emergency crews had been put on standby as a precaution, including firefighters, ambulances and police.
The 737s can fly fast and land safely on a single engine, said Neil Hanford, head of Sydney-based industrial consultancy Strategic Aviation Solutions.