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A floatplane rose just metres above the waters of Lake Rotorua this afternoon before the engine failed moments after takeoff, forcing an emergency landing.
The pilot and two passengers aboard the Volcanic Air Safaris Cessna 206 were shaken but unhurt.
The aircraft suffered moderate damage to its float struts in the landing, just after 1pm.
With help from Kawarau Jet the passengers and woman pilot were brought back to the airline's office within eight minutes of the landing, said Phill Barclay, managing director of Volcanic Air Safaris.
The aircraft may have risen about 4.5m above the water before it was forced to make the emergency landing about 500m from the shore, he said.
Mr Barclay commended the pilot in getting the aircraft down safely. She had flown for Volcanic Air all summer and been doing a good job.
"Well, the fact that nobody has a scratch on them or a bruise, I think that must talk for itself," Mr Barclay said.
"With a floatplane you still have that water in front of you. It's been quite lucky. If it had been a land-based aeroplane it might have been a different scenario."
The company had to yet to debrief the pilot and fully assess what had happened. The cause of the engine failure was not yet known and the Civil Aviation Authority had been notified.
Mr Barclay said he had managed Volcanic since 2002 and the company had carried substantial numbers of passengers without anything like this happening.
The two passengers - a couple from England in their 50s or early 60s - were on a scenic flight out to White Island, in the Bay of Plenty off Whakatane.
The tourists had two other scenic flights booked while they were in the country, Mr Barclay said.
"I said to them hopefully they have a better result in the next one."
He couldn't say if they would try to see White Island with Volcanic Air again.
The aircraft was towed back to shore and was now sitting in a hangar awaiting insurance assessment.
- NZPA
