An Air New Zealand ATR-72 en route to Wellington returned to its origin airport yesterday after pilots reported an indication of an electrical fault. The aircraft went on to land safely without reported injuries to passengers or crew. The ATR-72 remained on the ground for a few hours, and passengers were transferred onto alternative flights.
Airline denies reports of smoke in the cockpit
The incident was reported in The Aviation Herald. According to that report, an ATR-72 registered as ZK-MVE, had just departed Hamilton Airport for Wellington. The Aviation Herald reports the plane was on ascent when smoke was reported in the cockpit as it went through FL160. The pilots stopped the climb and returned to Hamilton Airport.
However, Air New Zealand told Simple Flying there was no smoke in the cockpit. In a statement provided to Simple Flying, a spokesperson said;
"Flight NZ5813 from Hamilton to Wellington returned to Hamilton on Wednesday morning after an indication of an electrical fault."
The aircraft was operating NZ5813. This is the 07:50 departure from Hamilton. The regional city on New Zealand's North Island is located just over 100 kilometers south of Auckland. The flight was heading to Wellington, on the southern tip of New Zealand's North Island. Flying time between the two cities on the ATR-72 is normally 70 minutes.
According to flight data, the ATR-72 was at 4,890 meters and traveling at just under 450 kilometers per hour and over the Pureora Forest Park west of Lake Taupo when it began turning around. With a smooth descent, ZK-MVE landed back in Hamilton about 30 minutes after it left.
The plane is one of 28 ATR-72s in Air New Zealand's regional fleet. ZK-MVE is just over six years old and has spent that time flying around New Zealand.
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An unlucky run for this Air New Zealand ATR-72
For some of that time, ZK-MVE flew for Mount Cook Airline, a subsidiary Air New Zealand regional airline that was absorbed into the parent brand in 2019. While flying at Mount Cook Airline, ZK-MVE was involved in two noteworthy incidents.
In February 2016, while operating a service on behalf of Air New Zealand from Christchurch to Hamilton, ZK-MVE was diverted to Nelson after a passenger reported a smell of burning rubber.
That incident, also reported in The Aviation Herald, involved flight NZ5308 on February 6, 2016. According to that report, besides a smell of burning rubber, a haze developed in the ATR's cabin. At the time, ZK-MVE was only a short distance from Nelson (on the northern tip of the South Island), so the aircraft diverted there.
Upon landing, the Captain said there was an electrical malfunction. There were 58 people on the plane.
Passenger brings a bottle of bleach into the aircraft cabin
Just three months later, ZK-MVE was involved in another incident. On May 21, 2016, the plane was operating a scheduled service from Wellington to Christchurch. There were 65 people onboard. The plane was forced to return to Wellington after a strong chlorine odour in the cabin had several people feeling unwell.
It turns out the source of the smell was easily solved. A passenger had brought a bottle of bleach on the flight, stored it in the overhead lockers, but the bottle leaked. Unlike yesterday's incident and the first incident in 2016, this incident saw passengers treated by medical services when the plane landed back in Wellington.
This incident also raised concerns about security protocols that allowed a passenger to carry a bleach bottle onto a plane.
Meanwhile, yesterday ZK-MVE was back flying after just a few hours on the ground. By lunchtime (New Zealand time), the ATR was heading down to Christchurch, and it successfully completed three flights over the remainder of the day. Flight data shows the plane slated for a busy schedule of flying over the next few days.