Qantas flight lands safely in Auckland after mayday call
Crew reported a potential cargo-hold fire; preliminary checks found no fire as the aircraft reached its Auckland destination
A Qantas flight from Sydney to Auckland landed safely in Auckland on Friday after the pilots issued a mayday call reporting a potential fire in the cargo hold. The Boeing 737, operating as Flight 141, was about an hour from Auckland when the distress signal was declared, the airline said, and the crew proceeded to complete a routine approach to the New Zealand city.
Emergency services vehicles were staged on the Auckland Airport tarmac as a precaution, but the aircraft touched down without incident and continued to its planned gate. There were no reports of smoke in the cabin and no injuries among passengers or crew, according to Qantas.
The airline said the mayday alert appeared to be false, and a preliminary investigation found no evidence of a fire. The aircraft would be inspected to determine the cause of the alert, with investigators expected to review the cargo hold and related systems as part of standard procedure following a mayday event.
The incident highlights the safety protocols in international air travel, where crews are trained to declare maydays if there is any threat to the aircraft and airports respond with precautionary emergency services. In this case, the flight proceeded to Auckland as scheduled and landed without any reported harm to passengers or crew. Further details on the investigation were expected to be released by Qantas and the relevant aviation authorities as they become available.