A major plane accident was averted in New Zealand. On Monday, a passenger plane collided with a bird while flying, after which the plane caught fire and its engine stopped. However, in the meantime the crew members landed the plane safely at New Zealand airport without any delay.
According to the information, there were a total of 73 people on board the plane. The fire caused panic among the passengers. A Virgin Australia Boeing 737-800 aircraft going to Melbourne, Australia landed at the airport in Invercargill, New Zealand due to a fire. However, no passenger was harmed in this incident and everyone is completely safe.
Fire and Emergency New Zealand shift supervisor Lynn Crossan said the accident occurred about 50 minutes after takeoff from Queenstown. He said firefighters were already on duty when the plane arrived in Invercargill, and the crews extinguished the fire. Queenstown Airport spokeswoman Catherine Nind said the cause of the engine fire was not yet known.
Meanwhile, Virgin Australia said in a statement that the incident may have been caused by a possible bird strike. The country's aviation regulator said on its website that the rate of bird strikes at New Zealand airports is about four for every 10,000 aircraft movements. The agency says the severity of the consequences depends on the condition of the aircraft, the size of the bird and the pilot's response.
Queenstown, with a population of 53,000, is located on the South Island of New Zealand. This place is very famous and attracts a large number of tourists. This place is famous for skiing, adventure tourism and alpine views.