A Qantas jet has landed safely on one engine after a May Day crash over the Pacific Ocean

Sydney — A Qantas flight from New Zealand to Sydney landed safely on one engine after it made a challenge over the Pacific Ocean on Wednesday.

Qantas Flight 144, with 145 passengers on board, landed at Sydney Airport from Auckland, New Zealand, after a 3 1/2 hour flight between the neighboring countries’ most populous cities.

The Boeing 737-838 “experienced a problem” with one of its two engines about an hour into the flight from Sydney, Qantas said in a statement.

The mayday flight, which is issued when a flight is in serious and immediate danger and requires immediate assistance, was downgraded to PAN-PAN – possible assistance required – before the flight landed.

Qantas said the pilot shut down the engine, but did not specify the problem.

“While in-flight engine shutdowns are rare and can naturally cause concern for passengers, our pilots are trained to operate them safely and aircraft are designed to fly for long periods on one engine,” Qantas said.

Passengers described their experience of engine failure as a “slight shudder” and “bumpy turbulence”. Some reported hearing a crash.

Some told reporters in Sydney that they were not told until they got off the plane that the engine had failed.

Reuters news service reports that some said they were not even aware of the problem until the pilot announced it.

“I turned on the phone and my wife called me 18 times: ‘Did you land, did you land?'” the unnamed passenger told reporters at the airport, according to Reuters.

Sydney Airport said emergency crews, including firefighters, ambulances and police, had been put on standby as a precaution.

Neil Hanford, chairman of Sydney-based industry consultancy Strategic Aviation Solutions, said the 737 could fly quickly and land safely on a single engine.