A flight from Gisborne to Auckland ended soon after take-off when an engine had to be shut down because of an “issue”.
It comes less than 24 hours after an international Air New Zealand flight made a rapid descent following an engine problem.
Head of Flight Operations Hugh Pearce said flight NZ5166 from Gisborne to Auckland experienced an “engine issue” shortly after take off.
“As per Air New Zealand’s standard operating procedures, the engine was shut down and the aircraft returned to Gisborne where it landed safely after circling for a short time.
“The matter is now being investigated.”
A passenger of the grounded Gisborne flight, who declined to be named, said the flight crew told them the left engine had failed.
“It happened just after we left, like five minutes in the air. I think I felt the engine drop,” she said.
”We just flew around for about an hour. We were just circling Gisborne.”
She said pilots and flight attendants tried to keep passengers calm.
A man at Gisborne Airport who was waiting for his flight said everyone was told to exit the building for a brief period before being allowed back in once the incident was resolved.
Airport staff declined to comment.
A Fire and Emergency spokesperson said they sent two fire and two water trucks to the airport.
The spokesperson said they were joined by police and ambulances as they waited for passengers to disembark the plane.
It comes after another Air New Zealand flight to Sydney experienced engine trouble and was forced to make a rapid descent last night.
Ruth Ann Herd was a passenger on board the plane and told RNZ’s Morning Report she was having her dinner when the inflight entertainment stopped.
“And then we dropped, then we descended and it was quite a rapid descent.
“I looked out the window and I could see we were closer to the ocean then before and then we did a big swing and turned in another direction and I thought ‘oh oh, we’re being diverted or something'.”
Other passengers told her they heard a grinding sound from one of the engines.
“Someone thought they saw a bit of something coming away from the plane or smoke or smoke trail of some kind.”
Air New Zealand said the engine was shut down, and the plane landed safely in Auckland.