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A Boeing 737 passenger plane took off from Queenstown on Monday night with flames coming out of the rear of the plane before landing safely in Invercargill.
Virgin Australia flight VA148 took off from Queenstown Airport at 5.59pm, bound for Melbourne, with 67 passengers and six crew on board, before turning south.
Queenstown Airport said in a statement: “The flight experienced an issue after take-off and was diverted to Invercargill Airport.”
The aircraft, a 737-800, registration VH-YIV, landed safely in Invercargill just before 7pm.
The airline later said it was a “possible bird strike during takeoff.”
“The aircraft was attended to by emergency services at Invercargill Airport. The safety of our passengers and crew is our highest priority,” Virgin Australia chief operating officer Stuart Aggs said.
The airline said late Monday evening that no one had been reported injured.
Greetings to passengers on Boeing flight VA148 from Invercargill. Can confirm that there was no fault of the Boeing itself but that there were several bird strikes during our departure from Queenstown. pic.twitter.com/6lr0Rc5iQK
— Drawyah (@DrawyahYT) June 17, 2024
“Our efforts are now focused on supporting our guests and crew, as well as transporting and relocating guests tonight in Invercargill and arranging for their early travel to Australia…
“We would like to express our gratitude to Invercargill Airport, emergency services, local Air New Zealand team members and our crew on board for their support in this evening’s rescue efforts.”
“Bang, bang, bang, bang”
People were filming the incident on the street as the plane flew overhead. Video posted on social media showed flames coming out of the plane’s engine as it flew over the Short Owa Delta.
A Queenstown man described hearing a sound similar to a car backfiring, then seeing a plane flying overhead with flames coming out of the back of the aircraft.
Braden told ABC New Zealand that residents on most streets near his home in Shotover County were filming the planes flying over.
“In that situation, you don’t really know what to do. You feel a little helpless and you feel bad for everybody in the car. Basically, the whole street was out. Everybody was really scared and worried about what was going on.”
Hamish Walker said his heart sank when he saw flames coming from the plane.
“It sounded like a car backfiring outside my kitchen window, which was strange because it was at least 100 metres down the road.
“Then there was just ‘bang, bang, bang, bang’. Then I walked outside and realised the plane was on fire and I could see flames coming out of the engine every few seconds.”
Mike Legg said his heart was in his throat when he saw the plane flying south.
“It sounded like someone was flying a jet in our garden,” he said. “The noise was coming from this jet, it was climbing, one engine was belching flames and it was backfiring. It was unbelievable.”
photo: supply
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