Plane returns after bumpy landing

A vintage aircraft which made an emergency landing on Marlborough's Wairau Bar yesterday has successfully flown off it today.

Mark O'Sullivan was flying a Chinese-made Nanchang CJ-6A from Blenheim's Omaka airbase yesterday when he lost power.

He was brought the plane down on the bar at the mouth of the Wairau River, landing on a bumpy four-wheel drive track.

"Once you realise there is a problem with an engine like that then you need to make quick decisions about the way the wind is coming, where the best place to land is, and what your best options are," Mr O'Sullivan told The Press.

Neither he nor his passenger were injured, and the plane survived the unplanned landing unscathed, despite bouncing over scrub.

The cause of the engine failure was not clear.

An engineer was unable to find any obvious fault yesterday.

Another pilot flew the plane back to Omaka airfield shortly after midday today after a takeoff path had been cleared through the scrub.

- NZPA