Pilot Makes Mayday Call Due to Low Fuel on Flight from LAX

by Donald Wood
Last updated: 11:18 AM ET, Thu October 4, 2018

A pilot flying a United Airlines plane to Australia Thursday was forced to issue a mayday call after the plane's low fuel caused a major emergency response.

According to Reuters.com, United Flight 839 was en route from Los Angeles International Airport to Sydney Airport when it experienced what airline officials called a "mechanical issue," but the plane managed to land in Australia safely.

There were 194 passengers and crew members onboard at the time of the incident.

Once the Boeing 787 landed in Sydney, it was taxied to the gate and all passengers were deplaned in a normal fashion. A spokeswoman for Air Services Australia said, "no passengers were at risk at any time."

The New South Wales state police arrived at the scene after the major emergency response was activated and several roads around the airport were closed as a precaution. The closures were lifted once the plane landed safely.

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