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A Qantas Airlines pilot is being praised for safely landing a Boeing 737 after one of its engines failed. Qantas Flight 144 was traveling from Aukland, New Zealand, to Sydney, Australia, when passengers heard a loud bang while flying over the Pacific Ocean.
The pilot issued a mayday call as the plane lost speed and altitude.
The plane was about an hour from Sydney, and the pilot continued on course and managed to safely land on a single engine. Officials said that after making the initial mayday call, the pilot downgraded it to a PAN or possible assistance needed.
Passengers knew there was an issue with the plane but did not realize how serious the problem was.
"It was just like a little bit of a bang, and then a little bit of turbulence, and that's it," Sandika McAuley told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. "We just thought, OK, this is a bit weird."
Many passengers didn't realize the severity of the situation until after the plane had landed.
"There were a few gasps when they told us when we were back on the runway, but by then, we had already landed. Even then, they told us that it had been a slight malfunction," Colin Schmidt told reporters who had gathered at the airport.
Qantas said that engineers were inspecting the plane to determine what caused the engine to fail.