WELLINGTON- An Air New Zealand (NZ) flight from Wellington (WLG) to Queenstown (ZQN) was forced to return to its origin after encountering severe wind shear that prevented a safe landing.
Flight NZ607 experienced challenging meteorological conditions that made a touchdown at Queenstown Airport impossible.
Air New Zealand Wellington
FlightRadar24 data shows the aircraft’s complex navigation path, initially approaching from the east and attempting to navigate along Lake Wakatipu before ultimately turning back to Wellington. The standard 55-minute flight route was disrupted by extreme wind conditions.
Air New Zealand’s chief operating officer, Alex Marren, confirmed to NZ Herald about flight’s diversion, emphasizing passenger safety as the primary consideration. The airline committed to re-accommodating affected customers on subsequent available services.
The aircraft involved in the incident is Airbus A320-200, registered as ZK-OXC. Further, it is an 11-year-old aircraft and is powered by IAE V2500 engines
This incident follows a series of recent aviation disruptions in the Queenstown region. During the previous weekend, the Queenstown Marathon experienced significant travel complications, with numerous flights canceled or redirected due to severe crosswind conditions.
Airport records documented the extent of recent disruptions, showing eight canceled or diverted arrivals and seven canceled departures during a single night. While Air New Zealand bore the brunt of these cancellations, Jetstar also experienced two affected arrivals and two canceled departures.
Passenger Remarks
An NZME reporter documented the dramatic abort of a flight to Queenstown, highlighting the intense weather challenges facing air travelers. The flight crew explicitly emphasized safety as the primary concern, acknowledging the significant disruption to passengers, particularly marathon participants.
Nathan Lee, a marathon runner who traveled from Taiwan, exemplified the personal impact of these flight cancellations. Lee had trained for months, with his parents already successfully arriving in Queenstown, while he remained stranded and uncertain about his travel arrangements.
“If you fly here, and then you tell me that it’s suddenly aborted… I did come off an 11-hour flight previously, so that was the light at the end of the tunnel,” Lee expressed, capturing the frustration of displaced travelers.
Similar Incident
Air NZ Airbus A321-200N flight from Brisbane encountered severe wind shear during its approach to Wellington Airport on September 26, 2024, forcing a critical go-around maneuver. The aircraft’s main wheels briefly touched the runway during this emergency procedure.
Captain Hugh Pearce, Air New Zealand’s head of flight operations, confirmed the incident, explaining that wind shear occurred moments before touchdown. The crew followed standard protocol by initiating a go-around, prioritizing passenger and crew safety.
Initial video footage suggested potential tail contact with the runway, but a post-incident inspection by Air New Zealand definitively ruled out any tail strike. As a precautionary measure, the airline dispatched aircraft data to Airbus for comprehensive analysis and canceled the plane’s scheduled flight the following day.
The incident coincided with severe meteorological conditions in Wellington. MetService issued a strong wind watch, with wind speeds exceeding 100 kilometers per hour, resulting in multiple flight cancellations across the region.
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