Qantas Flight Makes Low Fuel Emergency Call Midair

Australian authorities have launched an investigation after the pilots of a domestic flight made an emergency request to land despite their plane having more than half an hour's worth of fuel left in the tank.

Qantas flight QF933, which was heading from Brisbane to Perth, made a mayday call for a low fuel emergency just before 10:20 a.m. Monday, 7News.com.au reported, citing an investigation report from the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB).

The pilots made the call when the plane was just over 300 kilometers (186 miles) away from the airport in Perth and hovered at around 38,000 feet in the air, according to the report.

Declaring a fuel mayday prompts Air Traffic Control to allow a priority landing.

Prior to the call, Air Traffic Control had advised the pilots of the Boeing 737-838 aircraft that there were four flights ahead of them in the landing queue and that they would have to wait in the air for an extra 16 minutes before they would be able to land, according to the outlet.

The plane was stocked with enough extra fuel for a 10-minute wait based on pre-departure advice, but another call during the flight had extended that timeframe.

"Air Traffic Control requested the aircraft hold for longer than our pilots had previously been advised. To be given priority to land our pilots needed to make a fuel mayday call," Qantas chief pilot Captain Dick Tobiano told 7News in a statement.

The Qantas plane landed with around 40 minutes’ worth of fuel left in the tank, which was considered "well above the minimum requirements," Tobiano explained.

"Our pilots followed the correct procedures, and there was no safety issue with the flight," he added.

The amount of fuel left in the tank was 10 minutes more than aircraft are required to land with, according to Qantas.

The Civil Aviation Safety Authority requires airlines to carry 5% contingency fuel. Flight QF933 carried 10% contingency fuel on its flight from Brisbane to Perth, Qantas said.

ATSB, Australia's national transport safety investigator, has since launched an investigation into the incident involving the country's flag carrier.

The report is expected to be completed by the first quarter of next year.

"[S]hould a critical safety issue be identified during the course of the investigation, the ATSB will immediately notify relevant parties so appropriate safety action can be taken," the agency said.