QF144: Investigation opens after engine failure triggered ‘mayday alert’ on Qantas flight

An investigation has been launched into what caused a Qantas plane’s engine to fail mid-flight.

An investigation into what caused a Qantas’ plane engine to fail midflight has begun.

The pilot of a Qantas 737 aircraft travelling from Auckland to Sydney on Wednsday issued a mayday call that was later downgraded to a PAN (possible assistance needed).

The plane later landed safely at Sydney Airport.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) said a team of “three experienced transport safety investigators” would begin collecting evidence from the plane and that any “critical safety issues,” would be immediately shared with relevant stakeholders.

Qantas has kept the aircraft’s cockpit voice and flight data recorders, the ATSB statement confirmed.

An investigation has opened into an in-flight failure that caused a ‘mayday’ alert. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Jeremy Piper

“Once downloaded, information from those recorders will be analysed at the ATSB technical facilities in Canberra,” the ATSB said.

“Other likely investigation activities will include interviewing the flight crew, reviewing operator procedures, analysing weather information, examining any relevant engine components, and potentially attending any tear-down inspection of the engine.”

The investigation comes as passenger Nigel Morris shared details of the moment one of the engines failed.

An engine failure forced the pilot to land the plane with just one engine. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Nicholas Eagar,

Passengers on board the flight have said they were not informed until they landed. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Nicholas Eagar

“I didn’t hear a bang but there was a major jolt and the plane banked mid flight,” he told the Today show on Thursday.

“I think everyone was immediately aware there was something happening.”

Passengers were initially unaware of the severity of the situation.

About 150,000 people tuned in to flight tracking site Flight Radar to watch the flight on the final leg of it’s journey.

Less than 24 hours after the “mayday” alert, a second Qantas flight, QF101, travelling from Sydney to Fiji was diverted back to Sydney due to a potential mechanical issue.

The flight departed Sydney Airport at 8.30am and spent almost two hours circling over the coast before landing again in Sydney at 10.50am.

A Qantas spokesman said the flight returned to Sydney Airport as a precaution after “pilots received a fault indicator about a potential mechanical issue”.