Plane crash-lands near Blenheim

Air Nelson plane. Photo / Paul Taylor

A plane with 46 passengers and three crew on board has crash-landed at Woodbourne airport near Blenheim this evening.

The plane, operated by Air Nelson, a subsidiary of Air New Zealand, was bound for Nelson from Wellington but had been diverted to Blenheim due to bad weather in Nelson.

The plane suffered nosewheel failure, meaning the wheel collapsed on landing at Blenheim airport.

No one was injured.

The aircraft remained on the runway, and will be inspected by engineers.

Passengers were at the terminal while alternative transport was arranged.

In an email to the Herald, a reader whose mother was on board said the plane tried several times to land at Nelson airport before circling the airport for an hour and a half, and finally crash-landing at the Woodbourne airstrip.

In 2007 an Air NZ Beechcraft 1900D made a belly landing at Woodbourne with 17 people aboard after its landing gear failed to come down. No one was injured.

The plane involved is believed to be a Bombardier Q300 aircraft.

There have been six incidents of landing gears failing on Bombardier aircraft in North America over the past two years, reported CBS.

Two have happened over the past four days.

- NZ Herald staff, NZPA