Emergency services were on standby at Invercargill Airport after a landing gear fault left a flight from Christchurch “unable to land” for over an hour this afternoon.
Flight NZ5409 circled over Invercargill and Bluff and passed over the runway multiple times around 1.30pm today.
It landed shortly before 3pm.
Air New Zealand said a landing gear fault was detected during the flight.
“The pilot made the decision to delay the landing to complete the necessary checks before carrying out a safe landing at Invercargill,” head of flight operations Hugh Pearce told 1News.
“The pilot notified air traffic control in accordance with standard operating procedures which resulted in a local standby at the airport.”
Fire and Emergency NZ said it was on standby with three appliances and two tankers.
Hato Hone St John said it was on standby with one ambulance and one manager.
Invercargill Airport have been contacted for comment.
