Light plane makes emergency landing

A small twin-engine aeroplane was forced to make an emergency landing in Tauranga yesterday after one of its engines caught fire.

An instructor and two students were on board the privately-owned Twin Star plane when it landed at Tauranga Airport just before 9am.

After radioing in to say one engine was on fire and they would be landing at the airport, the pilot shut down the burning engine and used the remaining engine to land.

Airport manager Ray Dumble said landing on one engine was something pilots did extensive training for but did not often have to cope with.

"They did a very good job...they seemed to be right as rain," he told The Bay of Plenty Times.

Fire, ambulance and police were all on stand-by at the landing.

- NZPA