Passengers told to don lifejackets and prepare to ditch

SYDNEY - Passengers on board a budget airline Ozjet flight were told to don lifejackets and prepare for a possible crash landing in the ocean after a wing malfunction over Norfolk Island.

The Brisbane to Norfolk Island Boeing 737 flight on Saturday made two approaches before it was forced to abandon the landing in bad weather and diverted to Noumea.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) today confirmed it was investigating the apparent failure of an outboard slat of a plane.

"On the climb out there was a severe vibration and it appears that the right outboard slat appeared to be broken or there were some problems with it so the flight continued on to Noumea," the spokeswoman said.

"After the second attempt to land they were climbing back up again and this vibration occurred ... in the right wing," she said.

"As a normal precautionary procedure I believe that the passengers were briefed on a possible ditching and were also asked to don lifejackets."

She said the plane landed "uneventfully" at Noumea.

The black box recorder will be examined by Australian ATSB investigators.

- AAP