Qantas pilots have had to declare a “mayday” on a flight from Brisbane to Perth after running low on fuel.
The plane was put in a midair queue with other planes near the WA capital.
The pilots made the emergency call several hundred kilometres east of Perth on Monday, sparking an investigation by air safety authorities. The mayday call happened as inbound planes to Perth were put into holding patterns due to delays at the city’s airport.
Qantas Flight 933 arrived within Perth airspace with an extra 20 minutes’ worth of fuel. Air traffic informed the pilots that the holding period had extended to 16 minutes.
Air traffic controls told the pilots that they would have to declare a mayday to get priority to land before four other planes circling Perth.
The Qantas Boeing 737-838 plane departed Brisbane over five hours earlier and then safely landed at Perth Airport. The incident has been described as a “fuel mayday on descent” by air-safety investigators. This is quite rare, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.
If not for the mayday call, the pilots would have been in danger of landing without legally required reserves of fuel.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau has confirmed it was investigating a “low fuel event” involving the Qantas 737 aircraft.
“During descent, the crew declared an emergency due to the amount of fuel on board and proceeded to land in Perth. The aircraft landed with reserves intact,” it said.
The bureau is set to release a report once its investigation is complete and it said it will recommend safety measures if a “critical safety issue” is identified during the investigation.
Air traffic controllers requested the plane remain in a holding pattern for longer than the QF933 pilots previously advised, and in order to be given priority to land they needed to make a fuel mayday call, according to Qantas chief pilot Dick Tobiano.
“The aircraft landed with 40 minutes of fuel in the tank, which is well above the minimum requirements. Our pilots followed the correct procedures and there was no safety issue with the flight,” he said in a statement.
The chief pilot said the plane was loaded with fuel based on pre-flight conditions in accordance with the requirements of Australia’s air-safety regulator and Qantas’ fuel policy.
Jet fuel prices have been a massive cost for airlines lately. Qantas recently announced it will cut domestic flights until March due to high fuel prices.
Pilots are required to declare “mayday fuel” if they find themselves in a situation where they will have less than their minimum fuel reserve, according to Australian and International Pilots’ Association president Tony Lucas.
