Tokyo-bound Air New Zealand flight forced to return after engine problems

The flight to Japan was forced to turn around over Northland and return to Auckland. Image / FlightRadar24

New Zealand comedian Rose Matafeo has described the moment in which a plane started malfunctioning on her flight to Tokyo.

Passengers experienced shaking and "weird noises" on their flight to Tokyo this morning after the plane suffered engine issues and was turned back to Auckland.

Matafeo was on the plane, and posted on Twitter that the plane shook, power was briefly cut and weird noises were heard.

Good news guys, I made it to my new flight to Tokyo! I guess the bad news is that HALF AN HOUR INTO THE FLIGHT THE PLANE STARTS SHAKING AND MAKING WEIRD NOISES AND THE POWER GOES OFF A BIT AND WE HAVE TO TURN AROUND SO NOW I’M BACK IN AUCKLAND HA HA HA HA

— Rose Matafeo (@Rose_Matafeo) December 4, 2017

A total of 268 passengers and 14 crew were onboard Air New Zealand flight NZ99 bound for Narita, Tokyo when the flight was redirected back to Auckland after only reaching the top of the North Island.

An Air New Zealand spokeswoman said the plane returned to Auckland after experiencing an issue with one of its engines, which the captain elected to shut down as a precaution.

The aircraft landed shortly before 11am without further incident.

"The captain requested emergency services be on standby for the landing in line with normal operating procedures, however, this was not an emergency landing," the spokeswoman said.