Aircraft makes emergency landing at Invercargill after flames seen coming from engine over Queenstown, witnesses heard loud bangs

Witnesses have described the moment flames shot from a Boeing 737′s engine after a bird strike as the aircraft took off from Queenstown Airport this evening.

Video footage shows flames coming from the plane as it climbed over the Shotover Delta shortly after 6pm, with witnesses reporting “loud bangs”.

“Trust me, I could ‘feel’ the flames as we took off,” a passenger on the flight posted on social media tonight.

“I’m sitting just behind the wing on the right-hand side. Full view of the light show,” the passenger said.

The Virgin aircraft was diverted to Invercargill Airport and made an emergency landing just before 7pm with “no visible flames”.

The plane had just left Queenstown Airport and appeared to have experienced engine trouble during take-off.

Members of the public reported seeing flames coming from an engine and heard loud bangs, as the Virgin Airlines VA148 flight to Melbourne ascended from the airport about 6pm.

Virgin Airlines confirmed 73 people were on board, including 67 passengers and six crew.

Greetings from Invercargill onboard this VA148 BOEING flight. Can confirm that the BOEING had no fault on its own part, rather several bird strikes as we departed from Queenstown. pic.twitter.com/6lr0Rc5iQK

— Drawyah (@DrawyahYT) June 17, 2024

A passenger on the plane said on social media there had been a bird strike.

Writing on X (formerly Twitter), the passenger said the pilot made the announcement over the public address system.

”Pilot confirmed us hitting several birds on the way out. We’re now sitting on the Invercargill runway as the fire crews check for damage.”

Witness Nick Lambert saw the aircraft flying overhead.

“It was making one hell of a pulsing/throbbing noise out of one engine then it was shooting flames out – maybe hit a bird?

“It continued climbing and the noise and flame stopped.”

Flight from Queenstown to Melbourne is diverted to Invercargill. Photo / via Queenstown Trading Meta

The Virgin Australia Boeing 737 involved in tonight's incident pictured in 2020. Inset shows flames shooting from the plane's starboard engine shortly after taking off from Queenstown this evening.

One witness who took footage of the incident wrote: “Sounded like it was coming apart over our house. One engine was throwing flames and sputtering out.”

Another person wrote of a “possible emergency event at Queenstown Airport involving a Boeing 737″.

Another posted: “A plane just passed our house with terrible sound and fire. Please pray for the plane and people inside, their safety.”

A witness who saw the plane wrote on social media: “Flew over my place and sounded very sick.”

A Queenstown Airport spokeswoman said: “Virgin Australia flight VA148 departed Queenstown Airport at 5.59pm, bound for Melbourne. It experienced an issue just after takeoff and has been diverted to Invercargill Airport.”

Virgin Australia chief operations officer Stuart Aggs said: “Virgin Australia flight VA148 from Queenstown to Melbourne diverted to Invercargill Airport and landed safely following a possible bird strike on take-off this evening.

“The aircraft has been met by emergency services at Invercargill Airport. The safety of our guests and crew is our highest priority.”

In an update shortly before 9pm, Aggs said all passengers had safety disembarked the aircraft.

“At this time, we are not aware of any physical injuries to guests or crew. Emergency services personnel are on the ground at Invercargill Airport.

“Our efforts are now focused on providing support for our guests and crew, as well as transporting and accommodating guests in Invercargill this evening and arranging for their earliest onward travel to Australia,” Aggs said.

“We wish to express our appreciation for the support of Invercargill Airport, Emergency Services, local Air New Zealand team members and our crew onboard in helping to support tonight’s response effort.”

Fire and Emergency NZ (Fenz) said it received a report of a fire in an engine on a plane just after it had taken off from Queenstown.

“Air traffic control then advised Fenz it was diverting to Invercargill.

”Something has happened to one engine. That engine has been shut down. They had an uneventful flight to Invercargill,” a Fenz spokesman said.

Fenz said it was on standby at Invercargill Airport.

The aircraft is believed to have taken off from Queenstown Airport. Photo / George Heard

“There are two fire engines, a command unit and a water tanker on the ground waiting as a precaution.”

NewstalkZB host Marcus Lush said he was about 1km from the airport when the plane landed.

About 40 other people were watching from the same spot, he said.

They saw a “large number” of sirens and flashing lights, and the road to the airport was blocked off.

The plane had now stopped, Lush said.

“It looks like the emergency vehicles are heading out towards the plane.

“Two fire engines are heading out towards it. The plane still appears to be stationary.”

The Civil Aviation Authority said it was aware of the incident involving a Virgin Australia aircraft which took off from Queenstown and diverted to Invercargill.

“It was unofficially reported that there was an engine fire on climb-out as a result of a suspected bird strike. At 18.50 the aircraft landed safely in Invercargill.

“It’s currently too early for us to comment on the specifics and in the coming days we will work to understand the situation and next steps.”

A Hato Hone St John spokesperson told the Herald the service had responded to Invercargill Airport tonight with one rapid response vehicle, one ambulance and two operations managers.

”We have no patients at this time.”

Police confirmed they were advised of the incident but were not the lead agency, and directed further queries to Fenz, the Civil Aviation Authority and the airports involved.