Credit: Wikimedia Common
A Virgin Australia Boeing 737 was forced to make an emergency landing at New Zealand’s Invercargill Airport on Monday.
The Boeing 737-800, en route from Queenstown to Melbourne, was reportedly seen with fire spouting from one of its engines.
The Virgin Australia flight departed from Queenstown for Melbourne at 6pm, but was soon seen circling off the coast of Bluff, according to FlightRadar per 1 News.
Eyewitnesses on the ground reported loud noises emanating from the plane and flames visible from one of the engines.
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NEW ZEALAND : EMERGENCY LANDING IN NZ AFTER ENGINE FIRE
A Virgin AUSTRALIA Boeing 737-800 bound for MELBOURNE made an emergency landing in Invercargill, NZ due to an engine fire,… pic.twitter.com/KQjhWnWZwK
— LW World News (@LoveWorld_Peopl) June 17, 2024
Virgin Australia’s Chief Operations Officer, Stuart Aggs, confirmed that all passengers safely disembarked the aircraft, VA148, which landed at Invercargill Airport. At the time of the incident, there were 67 guests and six crew members on board.
Aggs stated that emergency services were present at the scene, but thankfully no physical injuries to guests or crew were reported. “Our efforts are now focused on providing support for our guests and crew,” he said. “We are also working on transporting and accommodating guests in Invercargill this evening and arranging for their earliest onward travel to Australia.”
Reports suggest that a bird strike might be the cause, although this has not yet been confirmed.
1 News reported:
The person on board the flight said at 7pm that the captain had confirmed it was a bird strike, and the passengers were sitting on the plane on the tarmac waiting to disembark.
The Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand said it is aware of the incident involving a Virgin Australia aircraft which took off from Queenstown and diverted to Invercargill.
“It was unofficially reported that there was an engine fire on climb-out as a result of a suspected bird strike. At 18:50 the aircraft landed safely in Invercargill. It’s currently too early for us to comment on the specifics and in the coming days we will work to understand the situation and next steps.”
Also this month, a United Airbus A320 engine caught fire just before takeoff at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport on Monday.
Video taken from a passenger showed smoke coming from the wing of the plane.
“I felt the impact on my window. As I looked, the engine was on fire and smoke was coming out,” passenger Ivan Paloalto told ABC 7 Chicago.
Earlier this month, a terrifying event was caught on camera: fire was seen shooting from an Air Canada Boeing jet during takeoff, forcing the plane to make an emergency landing.
The Gateway Pundit previously reported that a severe and potentially catastrophic flaw has been identified in nearly 300 Boeing 777 jets operated by major airlines, including United and American Airlines.
This flaw, rooted in an electrical issue, poses a risk of causing the aircraft’s wing fuel tanks to ignite and explode, an investigation by Daily Mail has disclosed.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) highlighted this concern in a notice issued on March 25, 2024, which revealed that an “electrostatic discharge” near the center-wing fuel tanks could act as an ignition source, leading to a possible fire or explosion.
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