A passenger plane from Queenstown to Melbourne made a safe emergency landing in Invercargill, New Zealand after one of its engines caught fire, the New Zealand Fire Service says.
The Virgin Australia Boeing 737-800 was forced to divert after a fire destroyed an engine in mid-air, news agency PTI reported. The diversion and safe landing was also reported by the Queenstown Airport X account.
According to a PTI report, New Zealand Fire and Emergency Services chief Lynn Crosson said fire engines met the plane when it arrived in Invercargill about 50 minutes after taking off from Queenstown.
Queenstown Airport spokeswoman Catherine Nind said the cause of the engine fire and the number of passengers on board were not immediately known.
The engine of an Australia-bound plane caught fire mid-air and landed in New Zealand#Australia #NewZealand #Viralnews pic.twitter.com/jr3Xeb7Thg
— Hello (@hello73853) June 17, 2024
In an email, Virgin Australia said the incident may have been caused by a “possible bird strike”. X-users, presumably during the flight, also claimed that the plane hit the bird shortly after takeoff.
According to a study by the University of Nebraska, bird strikes cause 1.2 billion dollars in damage to the commercial aviation industry due to the anomalies and accidents they cause.
According to the New Zealand Herald, there were witnesses when the engine caught fire and a “loud bang” was heard after the plane took off.
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