QF781 took off from Tullamarine airport in Melbourne just after 8.30pm on Monday in what was described as a smooth flight.

But things took an unexpected turn upon its approach into Perth where passengers reported hearing a loud bang.

The plane experienced an issue with one of its engines prompting pilots to request a priority landing.

“The pilots followed the procedures for this type of incident and manually shut down the engine,” a Qantas spokesperson told news.com.au in a statement.

“These aircraft are designed to safely operate with one engine.”

The spokesperson said the aircraft, an A330-200, landed safely and without further incident in Perth.

“We know this would have been unsettling for customers on board and we thank them for their co-operation and understanding.”

The plane was met with emergency crews on the tarmac, a standard procedure for priority landing and passengers disembarked as they normally would after the aircraft taxied to the gate.

“Just want to say thanks to the pilots and crew,” one passenger wrote on X.

“That landing was very smooth considering we lost an engine upon descent. But thankful I’ve landed cause s*** was scary to sit through (yes I did cry the whole time and no I won’t be booking a flight soon).”

As for what happened to the engine, Qantas is yet to determine what went wrong with engineers currently inspecting the aircraft.