Air New Zealand plane circles Invercargill Airport for over an hour after landing gear fault en route from Christchurch

Emergency services were on standby at Invercargill Airport this afternoon after a suspected fault delayed the landing of a flight for more than an hour.

Flight NZ5409 was enroute from Christchurch to Invercargill when a landing gear issue was detected, Air New Zealand Head of Flight Operations Hugh Pearce said.

“The pilot made the decision to delay the landing to complete the necessary checks before carrying out a safe landing at Invercargill,” he said.

A flight tracker showed the plane flying multiple loops offshore before attempting to make a safe landing.

Flight NZ5409 circled over Invercargill and Bluff for over an hour, passing over the runway multiple times. Photo / FlightRadar24

“The pilot notified air traffic control in accordance with standard operating procedures which resulted in a local standby at the airport,” Pearce said.

Fire and Emergency, Police and St John Ambulance were called to the incident just before 2pm this afternoon.

Fire and Emergency NZ said it was on standby with three appliances and two tankers.

Hato Hone St John said it was on standby with one ambulance and a manager.

The flight reportedly landed shortly before 3pm.

Air New Zealand thanked its customers for their patience and understanding.

It comes after a June 17 drama when an aircraft made an emergency landing in Invercargill when flames were seen coming from the engine over Queenstown.

Members of the public reported seeing flames coming from an engine and heard loud bangs, as the Virgin Airlines VA148 flight to Melbourne ascended from the airport.

One witness who took footage of the incident wrote: “Sounded like it was coming apart over our house. One engine was throwing flames and sputtering out.”