A Virgin Australia flight from New Zealand bound for Melbourne has made an emergency landing.
Flight VA148, which was carrying 67 passengers and six crew members, left Queenstown at 6pm local time but had to be diverted to Invercargill about 50 minutes later.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Aircraft travelling from New Zealand to Melbourne makes emergency landing.
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Flight tracking data shows the plane did two loops about 30km north of Invercargill before continuing on towards the southern coast of the South Island.
It then turned around and made the emergency landing.
One man who saw the plane fly over his house in Queenstown said it sounded like a car was backfiring “every second or two”.
“I was just making my dinner and I thought there was a car literally outside my window,” Hamish Walker told 7NEWS.
A passenger on board the plane said the mood was calm, but that people were “a tad shaken”.
“On the ground as fire crews inspect the plane,” they wrote on social media.
“Pilots did an awesome job flying on one engine while cabin crew made sure that we were secure.”
In a statement, Virgin Australia said the plane had experienced a “possible bird strike” during take-off.
“At this time, we are not aware of any physical injuries to guests or crew. Emergency services personnel are on the ground at Invercargill Airport,” it said.
“Our efforts are now focused on providing support for our guests and crew, as well as transporting and accommodating guests in Invercargill this evening and arranging for their earliest onward travel to Australia.”