Virgin Australia plane from Queenstown, NZ to Melbourne makes emergency landing
A Virgin Australia flight from New Zealand bound for Melbourne has had to make an emergency landing, with a witness saying they saw flames coming from the engine.
Flight VA148 left Queenstown at 6pm local time, but had to be diverted to Invercargill.
Flight tracking data shows the plane did two loops about 30km north of Invercargill before continuing on towards the southern coast of the South Island.
It then turned around and made the emergency landing.
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One witness who captured a video of the plane shortly after it took off from Queenstown airport said he saw flames coming from the aircraft’s engine. Credit: Facebook
One man who saw the plane fly over his house in Queenstown said it sounded like a car was backfiring “every second or two”.
In a statement, Virgin Australia said the plane had experienced a “possible bird strike” during take-off.
“The aircraft has been met by emergency services at Invercargill Airport,” it said.
“The safety of our guests and crew is our highest priority.”