An Air New Zealand plane was forced to make an emergency landing at Brisbane airport today after one of its engines failed.
The 767-200 aircraft was forced to return shortly after taking off from Brisbane about 1.30pm today after a loud bang was heard and the engine shut down.
The twin engineplane was at 11,000 feet (3300m) when the incident occurred.
Air NZ operations and technical senior vice president Craig Sinclair said the aircraft landed safely soon afterwards, with an emergency ground alert declared at Brisbane airport.
There were visible signs of external damage to the engine cowling and near the leading edge flap.
Mr Sinclair said the one-engine landing was uneventful and the plane was now parked, waiting for the arrival of an Air NZ incident and investigation team.
The incident had been reported to the New Zealand Civil Aviation Authority and the Australian Transport Safety Bureau.
Mr Sinclair said some passengers and crew had been placed on a Qantas flight to Auckland, while others would be collected by a special 737-700 flight later tonight.
An Air NZ spokesman said the plane, in service since 1986, underwent heavy maintenance a month ago.
However, engine maintenance, which was carried out under different criteria, last took place in March.
The General Electric engine was due for its next maintenance check next month.
He said it had done 14,000 flying hours, which was well within recommended guidelines.
"The important factor is that we were within maintenance cycle and this was what you might call a very unforeseen circumstance."
Generally, the engines could simply be taken off and another placed on the plane -- an option engineers might use to get it back to New Zealand.
He said the plane had not been involved in any accidents or other incidents of note.
The airline was waiting for confirmation from its engineers as to what exactly the damage consisted of.
He did not know if something had fallen off the plane.
"We know there was all kinds of damage around the cowling, which is the under part of the engine mount, and some on the leading edge as well."
There were 190 passengers and 10 crew on the plane.
