A Qantas flight has landed safely in New Zealand after the pilot was forced to make a mayday call after the aircraft indicated there was the possibility of a fire in the plane’s cargo hold.
The pilot of Qantas flight QFA141 from Sydney to Auckland made the call after an intermittent alert from the cargo hold of the flight indicated a fire.
Normal safety procedures were then followed, which included the mayday call. Crew onboard reported that there was no smoke in the cabin.
Emergency services across Auckland were on standby at the international airport after the mayday call was made.
The flight has since landed safely in Auckland at around 11.47 am NZ time, and all passengers have since disembarked the plane.
Early investigations have indicated that there was no fire on board the aircraft.
The airport has indicated that some delays may be expected for people travelling from Australia to Auckland Airport as a result of the incident.
Engineers are now inspecting the plane to identify the cause.
