Do you know more? Email: ruby.shaw@odt.co.nz
At noon yesterday, Mainland Air shared a photo of an Air NZ plane at Dunedin Airport, with the starboard engine cowling lifted and people inspecting it, captioned: ‘‘What a day to have a double bird-strike.’’
The Airbus A320-232 arrived from Auckland at 8.40am and was due to leave for Auckland at 9.30am. However, the return flight was cancelled.
The aeroplane was still at the airport when the Otago Daily Times visited yesterday afternoon.
Air NZ declined to answer questions about yesterday morning’s events and any impact on aircraft, operations or passenger travel.
Asked if it could confirm a bird strike occurred, the airline did not reply.
Dunedin Airport also did not respond to questions.
A Civil Aviation Authority spokeswoman said, at this stage, the authority had not received any formal notification or details about the cause of the issue.
‘‘Bird-strike incidents must be reported to the CAA within 10 working days. They are typically reported after the fact unless they involve a serious safety event,’’ she said.
‘‘If we receive further information indicating a regulatory role for us, we will assess that in line with our usual processes.’’
Some of Air New Zealand’s A320’s fleet is affected by a condition impacting the maintenance plan for the geared turbofan jet engine fleet, revealed in 2023.
