Wellington Airport plane fire: Aircraft makes emergency landing as smoke billows from engine

A plane has made an emergency landing in Wellington this afternoon after an engine fire. Photo / Wellington Flights Live, Romeo Wellington

An Air New Zealand aircraft has made an emergency landing at Wellington Airport this afternoon after its engine caught fire.

Dramatic live video captured the ATR 72 aircraft’s approach with thick smoke billowing from an engine just after 4pm.

Fire and Emergency New Zealandwere advised of the incident but were stood down upon arrival, saying “crash rire” teams had extinguished the blaze.

A livestream video of the incident shows passengers having to jump about a metre from the plane’s doors on to the tarmac.

Two people were treated for minor injuries.

Well that was an exciting landing #fire #WellingtonAirport #evacuation pic.twitter.com/aJHNZatCL6

— The Akinator (@dudezeon) September 1, 2024

A witness says passengers are all standing to the side of the runway on a grass verge.

“Ambulance is leaving the scene now, two large fire trucks still there and a couple of other small emergency vehicles”.

Nathan Culevski posted on Facebook about seeing the incident unfold.

“Just arrived as we watched huge ploom [sic] of smoke come from the ATR. Everyone has safely evacuated.”

Michelle McJarrow wrote: “We are on NZ247. Stuck on runway also with engine issues. Techs investigating but runway shut.”

Flames flare from the engine of an Air New Zealand plane as it makes an emergency landing at Wellington Airport. Photo / Lauren Crawford-Flett

The aircraft landed with a trail of thick smoke billowing behind after its engine caught fire on approach to Wellington Airport this afternoon.

Fire and Emergency were advised of an ATR aircraft engine fire in Wellington. Passengers disembarked and assembled nearby on a grass verge.

Air New Zealand’s head of flight operations, Hugh Pearce, said just after 4pm this afternoon, flight NZ5366, travelling from Christchurch to Wellington, landed safely after smoke was seen coming from the engine.

“The aircraft was met by emergency services and all passengers have disembarked safely. The cause of the incident is not yet known. We expect some disruptions to flights in Wellington as a result.”

It is unclear how many passengers and crew were onboard the aircraft but Air NZ’s ATR72s have 68 seats.

Passengers jumping out of emergency doors - via Wellington Flights Live https://t.co/nskxSHXP9P pic.twitter.com/17iczoT78R

— Dan News (@dannews) September 1, 2024

Somebody yelled ‘fire’ then passengers told to ‘evacuate’

One passenger on board the flight told the Herald somebody yelled “fire” and then moments later the aeroplane had landed and people were evacuating.

”Somebody said ‘fire’ and I looked over my shoulder and the port engine was aflame,” the passenger, who asked to remain anonymous, said.

”Then the cabin attendant called ‘evacuate, evacuate’,” he said.

He said he only saw the fire himself once the plane had landed. He said the flames, an orange glow, only lasted about 30 seconds.

”My wife’s first question, and my daughter’s – ‘is it a Boeing?’,” he said.

He was relieved to be on the ground and safe, speaking to the Herald as he waited for his luggage in the arrivals terminal.

”One passenger did have a bit of a panic attack,” he said. However, most passengers were relatively calm.

Those sitting in the exit rows helped their fellow passengers out of the plane.

He understood the cause of the fire was a drop in oil pressure in the engine. He said the “crew chief” told him the reason as passengers were shuttled from the plane to the terminal.

The oil pressure had apparently dropped, then the engine dumped the oil and it made contact with hot parts of the engine and ignited, the man said.

Wellington Airport runway reopens after flights were earlier diverted

A number of flights arriving at Wellington Airport were diverted, including an international Air New Zealand flight from Sydney.

However, Wellington Airport told the Herald in a statement that the runway was now open so flights can operate normally.

“There may be some flow-on disruptions so passengers are advised to contact their airlines.”

Three flights arriving in Wellington appear to have been diverted, 14 have had their arrival time pushed back, and three have been cancelled outright.

Wellington Free Ambulance said crews attended the incident, treating two patients on scene, both in a minor condition, with no one needing hospital transfer.

A plane has had an emergency landing in Wellington this afternoon. Photo / Romeo Wellington

Emergency services swarm the runway after an Air New Zealand plane made an emergency landing at Wellington Aiport this afternoon. Photo / Romeo Wellington

It comes after a June 17 drama when an aircraft made an emergency landing in Invercargill when flames were seen coming from its 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 southern 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.”

More to come.