A Qantas plane has landed safely in Sydney, after its pilot issued a mayday call after experiencing an issue with one of its engines an hour from its destination.
Flight QF144, a Boeing 737 twin jet engined from Auckland, touched down just before 3:30pm EDT.
Emergency services are on stand-by as a precaution, after rushing to the site about about an hour earlier.
Qantas said in a statement that the flight "experienced an issue with one of its engines about an hour from its destination".
The airline said the plane was met by emergency services in line with standard procedure.
"While a mayday was initially issued, this has now been downgraded to a Pan (possible assistance needed)," Qantas said.
"We will share more information about this incident once the aircraft is on the ground and has been assessed by our engineers."
The flight left Auckland just after 2pm local time.
Just before Christmas, a Sydney to London via Singapore Qantas flight was forced to make an emergency landing in Azerbaijan after pilots noticed a fault indicator in the cockpit.
Qantas said a suspected faulty fire sensor in the cargo hold was to blame.
The airline sent another Airbus A380 from Sydney to the capital Baku to pick up passengers stranded after the diversion.
Earlier this month a Jetstar flight was forced to land in Central Japan after it reportedly received a bomb threat.
The aircraft, owned by Qantas, was reportedly travelling from Narita Airport near Tokyo to Fukuoka, when it was forced to divert to Aichi prefecture, public broadcaster NHK reported at the time.
Story by: Greta Stonehouse and Rani Hayman
Original story link: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-01-18/qantas-flight-mayday-call-sydney-airport/101868500
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