United Airlines plane makes emergency landing in Sydney because of fuel

A Boeing 787 Dreamliner operated by United Airlines takes off at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on January 9, 2013 in Los Angeles, California.David McNew/Getty Images

• A United Airlines plane flying from Los Angeles to Sydney, Australia made a mayday call and safely completed an emergency landing after the pilots realized they were running low on fuel, according to reports. 
• In a statement to Business Insider, a United spokesperson said, “ from Los Angeles to Sydney landed safely in Sydney following a mechanical issue. The aircraft taxied to the gate and all customers disembarked normally.”
• USA Today reports an Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authority spokesperson said the measures taken by Flight 839 were done strictly as a precaution, having hit a fuel reserve threshold that requires the captain to declare a “fuel mayday” emergency. 

In a statement to Business Insider, a United Airlines spokesperson said, “Flight 839 from Los Angeles to Sydney landed safely in Sydney following a mechanical issue. The aircraft taxied to the gate and all customers disembarked normally.”

Flight 839 departed from Los Angeles International Airport on Tuesday, October 2 and flew for nearly 15 hours before its emergency landing in Sydney on Thursday, per data from Flight Aware, the live tracking website. 

USA Today reports that Sydney emergency services had radioed the plane, a Boeing 787 carrying 180 passengers and 14 crew, “has fuel issues and has issued a mayday,” adding that a full emergency response was mobilized by police at the airport. 

CNBC reports that some major roads surrounding the airport were closed as a precaution, according to a police statement.

Peter Gibson, an Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authority spokesperson, told USA Today the measures taken by Flight 839 were done strictly as a precaution, having hit a fuel reserve threshold that requires the captain to declare a “fuel mayday” emergency. 

“What that tells air traffic control and aircraft in the area is that you need priority to come in,” Gibson said, as reported by USA Today. “It doesn’t mean you’re running out of fuel, you’ve still got plenty of fuel left, but it’s a precaution to say: ‘I’m down to my reserve and I need to come in as quickly as can be arranged.'” 

According to reports, passengers had no idea such a precaution was taken by the crew. CNBC reports journalist Liz Hayes, of Nine Network Television, was a passenger on the flight and had been unaware of any problem.