Qantas flight lands at Sydney airport after issuing distress signal

Qantas flight lands at Sydney airport after issuing distress signal

The mayday signal was downgraded to 'Possible Assistance Needed' before landing.

The Boeing 737-800 jet issued a ‘mayday’ call while flying over water an hour from its destination. (Twitter pic/Ted Perton)
SYDNEY:
A Qantas Airways flight from New Zealand landed at Sydney airport on Wednesday after the airline said it had issued a distress signal due to an issue with one of its engines.

The Boeing 737-800 jet from Auckland had issued a “mayday” call while flying over water an hour from its destination of Sydney, a Qantas spokesman in a statement issued prior to landing.

The mayday signal, which indicates grave and imminent danger, was downgraded to “Possible Assistance Needed” before landing, the spokesman added.

Emergency services met the plane when it landed in Sydney around 3.30pm.

Qantas said it would share more information once the aircraft had been assessed by its engineers.

Stay current - Follow FMT on WhatsApp, Google news and Telegram

Subscribe to our newsletter and get news delivered to your mailbox.