Mayday call sparks United Airlines landing at Sydney Airport

A UNITED Airlines flight carrying 239 passengers has landed at Sydney Airport after an emergency mayday call.

The worrying signal triggered a full emergency response and all major roads around the airport were closed as the UA839 service landed safety just after 6.30am.

There were reports the mayday call was made after dry ice began leaking on the plane which was en route from Los Angeles — however a Airservices Australia spokeswoman told news.com.au this was not the case.

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“There is no risk, the plane has landed safely and everybody is OK,” a spokeswoman for the corporation said.

She said the mayday call was sent automatically because the plane’s fuel had dipped below a certain level.

However, she said there was “heaps of fuel” left in the tank and the signal was merely a precautionary measure.

A police traffic control plan was activated at 6.36am, with some major roads surrounding the airport closed as a precaution.

However, NSW Police said the roads were reopened just minutes later after the plane had landed safely.

A spokesman for United Airlines said there was a “mechanical issue” with the plane.

“United flight 839 from Los Angeles to Sydney landed safely in Sydney following a mechanical issue,” he said. “The aircraft taxied to the gate and all customers disembarked normally.”

A spokesman for Sydney Airport told news.com.au the there have been no knock-on effects from the incident and no delays.

Airport Firefighters have declared the plane safe.

— more to come

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