Air New Zealand delay in Napier unrelated to later engine issue

Passengers on-board the Air New Zealand ATR72-500 waited 40 minutes before take-off /Photo NZME HBT18128002

Passengers who boarded the Air New Zealand flight in Napier which suffered engine failure waited 40 minutes before the plane left the airport, but the delay was unrelated to the later issues.

An observer inside the terminal who wished to remain anonymous waited on the observation deck after passengers boarded the ATR72-500 flight bound for Auckland.

Seventy-one people were on the plane which had to make an emergency landing, returning to Napier soon after taking off at 3.20pm last Friday when one of the engines stopped working.

The observer said passengers boarded the plane at 2.40pm but it didn't take off until 3.20pm.

She said there was a terminal full of people watching and waiting for the flight to depart.

On the observation deck she noticed the pilot pushing buttons before the right engine started, shortly followed by the left.

However, an Air NZ spokesperson said the engines on the ATR aircraft are started one at a time, not simultaneously.

They said the time delay between the passengers boarding and taking off was due to a unrelated issue with the engine's start fault light, which was resolved after the crew sought appropriate advice from engineering.

"After this, all indications on the flight deck were normal and the aircraft was cleared to depart.

"There was no indication to the crew of any engine issues or engine operating concerns prior to departure.

"The aircraft is designed to be able to operate safely on one engine and pilots regularly train for this scenario. The pilots also made two announcements to passengers to brief them on the situation prior to executing a normal landing."

The ATR72-500 aircraft involved in the incident had an engine change in Napier over the weekend and was expected back in service earlier this week.

"The engine that was shut down on Friday has been shipped to the engine manufacturer's facility in Singapore for further inspection."