Two Qantas Incidents In Two Days

Two Qantas Boeing 737s have suffered mechanical issues in a matter of days.

Initially, a Qantas 737, registered as VH-XZB, was operating a routine flight from Auckland to Sydney. This before it issued a mayday call, squawking ‘7700’. This is a call typically used to alert of danger. However, before landing, it was downgraded.

According to reports, the Boeing 737, while flying, suffered a suspected shutdown of its left engine. This resulted in pilots issuing such a call as their engines were compromised. The plane had 145 total passengers onboard. The Auckland to Sydney route is incredibly popular, with several flights per day from multiple airlines.

The aircraft eventually landed safely at Sydney Airport, where emergency services were awaiting the plane. It is a common practice for these services to meet the aircraft. However, this is for a potential worst-case scenario.

However, only one day later, another 737-800 bound for Nadi in Fiji from Sydney was forced to return to Sydney after departing. This a precautionary measure following the pilots onboard being alerted to a potential mechanical issue with the plane.

Engineers were left with the aircraft to determine the cause, if a fix was required, and so on. This occurred after the plane landed safely in Sydney and circled for two hours.

No injuries were reported on any of the flights. A commendable effort to the pilots, crew and airport staff that were able to keep passengers calm that may not have been understanding of the situation and allow for a safe landing.