A state of emergency was declared at Auckland airport this morning after a Samoa-bound plane had to turn back due to an engineering issue.
Auckland Airport Photo: 123RF
Air New Zealand said a Boeing 777 was on its way to Samoa when it had to turn back just before 10am.
The airport announced a state of emergency and the Fire Service was called out.
Air New Zealand said the pilots detected something was wrong shortly after take-off. They then turned around and landed safely.
Passenger Eliota Fuimaono-Sapolu, a lawyer and former rugby test player, tweeted that they were an hour into a flight to Samoa when the plane turned back.
He said he was thankful a conservative approach was taken and everyone was safe.
Earlier reports said there was a brake fire, but Air New Zealand said it believed a small amount of hydraulic fluid had dripped onto the hot brakes, causing smoke.
It said some people on the ground wrongly interpreted it to be a fire.