Air NZ flight aborted due to engine concerns

Air New Zealand Boeing 737, similar to that which had a mid-air incident on the way to Auckland this morning.

A domestic Air New Zealand flight was aborted shortly after take off this morning due to concerns over one of its engines.

A spokeswoman for the airline said flight NZ508 travelling from Christchurch to Auckland returned to Christchurch shortly after take-off as a precautionary measure this morning.

The pilots opted to return as a precautionary measure after a cockpit indicator light briefly illuminated once they reached cruise altitude.

Engineers had since inspected the Boeing 737 aircraft which had been cleared to return to service.

Passengers were re-accommodated on another service which left Christchurch at 10am.

A passenger on the plane said the flight boarded as normal and left Christchurch on time at 8.55am.

"Just after our takeoff we were told that there was an indication of a slight problem with one of the engines [and] we had to go back to Christchurch.''

The plane had only been in the air for approximately five minutes before it turned back, the passenger said.

There were no obvious problems with the aeroplane, she added.