Three plane dramas in 24 hours

File photo / Greg Bowker

An Air New Zealand flight was cancelled this morning after engineers found a fuel leak, one of three problems with aircraft in New Zealand and Australia in less than 24 hours.

The A320 aircraft was to travel from Sydney to Auckland but the leak was found during a routine check before it took off, an Air New Zealand spokeswoman said.

"It's not unusual for this to happen."

It was expected that the aircraft would return to service soon.

Meanwhile, an Air Canada jet aircraft carrying 264 passengers on board landed safely after smoke was detected in the galley shortly after takeoff, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.

The airline's general manager for Australia and New Zealand, Jeannie Foster, said the plane's captain had not declared an emergency but had dumped fuel before returning to Sydney.

The smoke was coming out of the aircraft's oven, she said.

Last night the crew of a Jetstar with 167 passengers on board detected faint smoke in the cabin when it touched down in Auckland from Christchurch at 9.20pm.

The Fire Service checked the plane using a thermal imaging camera but found no heat source.

The aircraft returned to service this morning after a thorough inspection, Jetstar said.

- NZPA