Bird-strike ruled out in Air NZ 767 engine explosion

UPDATE Friday 2.45pm: Air New Zealand has released a statement ruling out bird strike as the cause of yesterday's mid-air engine explosion on a Boeing 767-300:

Investigations are continuing on the Boeing 767-300 aircraft, which encountered trouble 1800 feet into the air shortly after its take-off from Auckland, en route to Perth.

The pilots reduced take-off thrust as normal when they were airborne, there was an interruption to the airflow through the left hand engine which caused the flare seen from the rear of the engine, the company said this afternoon.

The pilots followed procedure by further reducing thrust on the affected left hand engine and it began operating normally.

Regardless, the pilots followed Air New Zealand’s conservative operating procedures and undertook a precautionary engine shut down before returning to the airport so the cause of the airflow disruption could be determined.

“The change in the airflow in the engine created a similar reaction to that of a car backfiring,” said Air New Zealand General Manager Airline Operations and Safety and Chief Pilot, Captain David Morgan.

“The investigation has established no evidence of bird strike as a cause for the disruption to airflow and no damage to the engine itself. The unit responsible for the control of airflow through the engine has been removed and will be sent to the manufacturer for testing. We have replaced the unit and will now undertake engine tests in conjunction with the engine manufacturer GE.”

Passengers from the flight were accommodated in hotels last night before flying out on another aircraft at 1am this morning, which has since arrived in Perth.

UPDATE 4.29pm: Air New Zealand has just released the following statement: 

Air New Zealand flight NZ175 from Auckland to Perth returned to Auckland this afternoon after the pilot of the Boeing 767-300ER aircraft reported a problem with the left hand engine shortly after the 2.25pm take off. It returned to Auckland immediately, landed at 2.52pm without further incident and taxied to the gate.

The incident occurred just after takeoff at 1800 feet, with bird strike a possibility, and the Captain elected to shut down the left hand engine. The Captain briefed the 206 passengers onboard, including explaining that any flame seen from the engine is not unusual when it is shut down in flight.

Affected passengers are being accommodated in hotels until a replacement aircraft is available for a departure later this evening.

There is no visible damage to the engine, with engineers to begin an immediate inspection. 

The plane has been flying since the 1980s, and is scheduled to be replaced by Boeing's Dreamliner.

An Air New Zealand Boeing 767 has made an emergency landing at Auckland International Airport.

The plane (flight number NZ175) had just taken off on a flight to Perth when it radioed in saying there was severe damage to one of its engines, TV3 reports.

The fire service initially responded to the situation as a "full scale emergency", but has now been stood down.

There were unconfirmed reports that fire had erupted from a jet plane's engine as it left the airport at around 2.35pm

An airport spokesman was not immediately available for comment.

On Air New Zealand's website, the plane listed for Flight NZ 175 is a Boeing 767-300. 

Air New Zealand has since issued a brief statement saying the pilot reported a problem with the left hand engine shortly after take off.

The aircraft returned to Auckland immediately, landed without further incident and taxied to the gate.

"The nature of the issue is not yet known," Air New Zealand said. "Engineers will begin an immediate inspection of the engine." 

The airline said the 206 passengers on board will return to the terminal and be looked after by Air New Zealand staff while a replacement aircraft is readied.