The pair met that fateful day but only one would survive the night.

A British Airways plane has made an emergency landing at Sydney Airport.

Singapore-bound flight BAW16 had taken off from Sydney just after 3pm, shortly before the pilot issued a mayday call.

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner, which has the capacity to carry between 250 and 500 passengers, returned to Sydney and landed safely after circling.

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A British Airways spokesperson said the aircraft returned to Sydney as a precaution after reports of a technical issue.

"The flight landed safely and our teams are working hard to get customers' journeys back on track as soon as possible," the spokesperson said.

It is understood the plane ran into trouble over Orange in the NSW Central West before the aircraft turned around.

Audio of the mayday call between the pilot and the Sydney Airport operations control centre has since been released.

"Mayday Speedbird 16… just about to become established on (runway) 34 L, we will have to stop for at least a minute on the runway after landing," the pilot said.

"Speedbird 16 Sydney tower… g'day, copy, mayday acknowledged," the operations control centre employee responded.

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The flight was met on the tarmac by eight emergency vehicles, including fire trucks, which is standard procedure for emergency landings.

The plane has since been met by engineers at the British Airways airport gate.

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The three children spent three years in hiding in remote Waikato bushland.

A fugitive father who had been hiding for years with his three children in the dense New Zealand wilderness is believed to have been shot dead during an armed confrontation with police responding to a break-in, police said today.

An officer was also wounded in the confrontation after being shot in the head, police said.

"The formal identification has yet to take place but we believe him to be Tom Phillips," Acting Deputy Commissioner Jill Rogers told reporters.

Live updates: Mushroom killer Erin Patterson sentenced to life in prison with non-parole period

One of the children was with the man believed to be Phillips at the time and is in police custody.

But the other two children – a boy and a girl – were still missing.

Following a massive and urgent search operation involving helicopters and special tactics police today, police announced the other two children had been found on their own at a remote campsite in the dense bush near the tiny rural town of Marakopa, on the rugged west coast of New Zealand's Waikato region.

"They are with police officers now, and are being removed from that location," Acting Deputy Commissioner Jill Rogers told reporters this afternoon.

Thomas Callam Phillips vanished with his children in December 2021, and despite several sightings, appeals for help, and a police search, the family's location had remained a mystery.

Police believe they were living off-grid, with the father using his survival skills to feed, shelter and clothe his children.

He and one of his children were spotted in camouflage clothing scoping out a store in Piopio late last month in footage released by New Zealand Police.

Early today local time police were called to reports of a break-in at a farming good store in the Poipoi, a town of less than 500 people in the western Waikato district in the North Island of the country, near where Phillips is believed to have been hiding out.

Police were alerted to a four-wheeled farm bike with two people on it leaving the scene on a gravel road and set up road spikes on at a nearby intersection.

"The quad bike has run over the spikes. The two occupants have been on that bike, and it has come to a rest on this rural road. A short time later, the first attending police officer at that scene has come across that stopped quad bike and been confronted by gunfire at close range," Rogers said.

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The officer was struck in the head and took cover. When another policer arrived at the scene, they shot at Phillips.

"A second person was located at the scene, and multiple firearms were located on and around the quad bike," said Rogers.

The injured officer has been airlifted to Waikato Hospital and undergo surgery.

Rogers said locating the other two children was a priority.

Tom Phillips sister, Rozzi Phillips, confirmed to CNN affiliate and public broadcaster RNZ that he had been killed.

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Just two weeks ago, law enforcement released CCTV footage of what they believed to be Phillips and one of the children involved in an early morning burglary at convenience store in the same town as today's shooting.

Last June police offered a reward of 80,000 New Zealand dollars ($71,000) for information leading to their location and safe return.

Phillips' series of alleged crimes includes the armed robbery of a bank in May 2023, when two people were seen on closed circuit television escaping on a motorbike with cash.

Phillips already faced a range of charges including aggravated robbery, aggravated wounding, and unlawful possession of a firearm.

The children's mother, known as Cat, said she was "deeply relieved that for our (children) this ordeal has come to an end," in a statement to CNN affiliate RNZ on Monday morning.

"They have been dearly missed every day for nearly four years, and we are looking forward to welcoming them home with love and care," she said

"At the same time, we are saddened by how events unfolded today. Our hope has always been that the children could be returned in a peaceful and safe way for everyone involved."

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A volley of shots in the dark this morning left Phillips dead and an officer in hospital.

Police and Hato Hone St John responded after being notified around 3.30pm this afternoon.

Their mother Catherine says she feels both relief and deep sadness today.

Harley Davidson and Yamahas were involved in incidents.

One of Australia's most notorious killers Erin Patterson could walk free from prison as an elderly woman after a judge gave the triple-murderer a chance at release.

The 50-year-old kept her eyes closed during much of today's sentencing as a court heard her calculated plan to kill four members of her extended family and the lies she told as she tried to cover up the crimes.

But she stared straight ahead as she was given hope of being released while serving three concurrent life sentences.

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Victorian Supreme Court Justice Christopher Beale rejected prosecutors' request that she be denied any chance of freedom, sentencing her to a non-parole period of 33 years due to the harsh conditions she faced in custody.

With time already served, Patterson could be back in the community at the age of 82. 

She deliberately served beef Wellingtons that were laced with death cap mushrooms to four lunch guests in July 2023, the court heard.

Her former in-laws Don and Gail Patterson, 70, and Gail's sister Heather Wilkinson, 66, all died after consuming the meal, while Heather's husband Ian was left seriously ill but survived.

Patterson claimed it was a terrible accident but a jury in July found her guilty of three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder.

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Justice Beale accepted there was no proven motive for the crime, adding it was not his job to speculate about why she committed the murders.

But he found Patterson concocted an elaborate story to cover up her offending, including lying about a dehydrator, where she sourced the mushrooms and having cancer.

The judge also believed Wilkinson, who described how the killer served the individual beef Wellingtons on grey plates to her lunch guests while her own meal was on a small orange-tan plate.

"I find that you did this to ensure that you did not mistakenly consume a poisoned meal," Justice Beale said.

He described Patterson's offending as the worst category of murder, noting the enormous betrayal of trust towards people she considered family.

READ MORE: What happens next for Erin Patterson?

"They had all been good to you and your children over many years," he said.

"Not only did you cut short three lives and cause lasting damage to Ian Wilkinson's health … you inflicted untold suffering on your own children whom you robbed of their beloved grandparents."

Patterson would have anticipated the victims experiencing protracted suffering when she chose to use the mushrooms to poison them, the judge added.

He also found her intention to kill extended past the lunch and into the days after, when she did not tell doctors or health department staff where the mushrooms were found.

The severity of her crimes and her lack of pity warranted the maximum jail sentence, Justice Beale said.

"Your failure to exhibit any remorse pours salt into all the victims' wounds," he said.

But the judge accepted Patterson's time in custody would be more difficult as she would likely remain in solitary confinement for years.

"Given the unprecedented media coverage of your case, and the books, documentaries and TV series about you which are all in the pipeline, you are likely to remain a notorious prisoner for many years to come," he said.

Patterson's eyes opened at the judge's comments and she turned towards the media box and scowled.

The only other time she opened her eyes during the hearing was when Justice Beale referred to Wilkinson's victim impact statement, in which he offered forgiveness.

You would do well to embrace (the offer) in the manner he suggests," the judge said.

Sole mushroom lunch survivor speaks outside court

Speaking outside court after the sentence, Wilkinson thanked police for bringing "to light the truth of what happened to three good people".

Wilkinson said the police conducted a "professional, efficient and effective" investigation into Patterson's murders.

"They brought to light the truth of what happened with the death of three good people," he said outside court.

"We're grateful for their skills that brought this truth to light."

He added: "The court processes are a little bewildering to laypeople like me and we are grateful for their expertise, their hard work and their perseverance that has secured his conviction."

Wilkinson did not comment on Patterson's sentence but instead praised people from across Australia and the world who had offered their support during the ordeal.

A chance at an appeal

Patterson will have 28 days to lodge an appeal against her convictions and sentence.

Thomson Geer partner and lawyer Justin Quill told 9News that he expects Patterson will almost certainly try to appeal today's sentence or her conviction.

"I think she's almost an unbackable favourite to appeal… She's got money, she's got time, she's got nothing to lose," he said.

"I felt like His Honour was saying to Erin Patterson, 'stop the lies, don't appeal. You've done the crime, now do the time'."

Quill said Patterson's sentence is "more severe" given the nature of her time behind bars, which includes solitary confinement.

Patterson's life behind bars 

Justice Beale spoke at length about Patterson's time in prison.

She has been in custody since her arrest in November 2023.

Patterson is assessed as "major offender status", meaning she is at significant risk from other inmates, Justice Beale said.

He noted Patterson does not pose a risk to other prisoners.

She is also not permitted to mix with other women in her unit and spends at least 22 hours per day in a cell.

Meals and medicine are delivered through a flap in Patterson's cell door.

She accesses a small concrete yard for fresh air.

Justice Beale told the court that Patterson only has approval to speak to one other inmate in her unit.

Any communication needs to be a wire mesh.

This unnamed inmate is undergoing a lengthy sentence for terrorism offences and has attacked other inmates, Justice Beale said.

"You did not ask to communicate with that person and have not communicated with her," Beale noted.

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It comes as a coronial inquest into the fatal 2019 eruption will soon begin.