“I saw a bright red light. Then the glow got bigger and it turned out to be flames, a bit of smoke, and when we landed, someone shouted ‘fire!'” The testimony of the passenger on this Air New Zealand flight aboard an ATR 72 aircraft sends shivers down the spine.
In fact, the plane’s left engine caught fire six seconds before landing in Wellington. The plane was evacuated to the runway without causing any injuries. Almost everything was filmed live and broadcast on YouTube.
The cause of the incident has not been reported, but an investigation has apparently been opened.
Oil pressure drop
Passengers later reported that the crew chief told them there had been a drop in engine oil pressure, that oil was leaking and had come into contact with hot engine parts and caught fire.
For the turboprop aircraft manufacturer, a joint venture between Italy’s Alenia Aermacchi (Finmeccanica Group) and France’s EADS based in Toulouse, this incident adds to an already long list of incidents, even though it has just celebrated the delivery of its 1,700th aircraft.
On August 9, a Voepass ATR 72 crashed in the Brazilian region of Sao Paulo, killing 61 people, including all passengers and crew members on board. The investigation is still ongoing, but several hypotheses have been put forward: a technical fault, human error or a freeze.
In January 2023, a Yeti Airlines ATR 72 from Kathmandu, Nepal, crashed near Pokhara Airport, where it was due to land. At least 67 people died.
In November 2022, an ATR 42 of Tanzanian airline Precision Air crashed into Lake Victoria, just before landing in Bukoba, killing 19 people.
Source: BFM TV
