An Air New Zealand plane that was circling the Tauranga Airport for over an hour has landed safely.
The Bombardier Dash 8 aircraft operating flight NZ8262 was due to land in Tauranga at 7:30pm on Monday night.
Emergency services had been put on standby after the incident involving the Air New Zealand flight from Wellington.
However, after turning torwards the runway, the aircraft aborted the landing and began circling the airport for over an hour.
Data from website Flightradar24.com showed the aircraft decended to an altitude of 1300 feet before aborting the landing.
An Air New Zealand spokeswoman said 50 customers and three crew members were onboard the plane.
Pilots identified a landing gear fault and requested emergency services to be on standby for the landing, which was a standard operating procedure, she said.
A Fire and Emergency New Zealand spokesman said seven fire crews were at the airport on stand by as a precautionary measure.
A reporter at the scene told Sun Media "As it circled close to me, it looked like the front landing gear wasn't fully engaged.
"Other planes have landed and this one continues to circle."
Newshub.
