Flight Levels

Making the call

Understanding a fuel Mayday

Even before the morning coffee had been brewed, social media and website forums were abuzz about an unfolding drama at Sydney Airport. United Airlines flight 839 inbound from Los Angeles had declared a fuel Mayday and the city was on high alert. Emergency services were being scrambled from nearby stations and roads were being closed to clear them of traffic.

At first glance one could be forgiven for thinking that the United Airlines Boeing 787 was already a glider, silently descending to earth with empty tanks and without engine power, its fate unknown, as its crew struggled to reach the benchmark set by Sullenberger on the Hudson River some years before.