Summary
- No injuries occurred during the Jetstar Airways flight incident; passengers narrate a frightening experience midflight.
- The aircraft’s hydraulic issue caused it to slide off the runway in Christchurch, closing the airport for three hours.
- Despite minor damage to the Airbus A320, all passengers were safely disembarked, and the incident is under investigation.
On arrival, passengers onboard a Jetstar Airways flight from Auckland to Christchurch got the fright of their lives as the aircraft slid off the runway due to a hydraulic issue. Fortunately, no passengers were injured; however, the incident delayed several corresponding services while the scene was investigated. JQ225, a domestic flight from Auckland (AKL) to Christchurch (CHC), encountered a steering issue on landing in Garden City and closed the runway for three hours after the incident occurred.
A passenger onboard, Diana Clement, replayed her experience to an online news outlet, Stuff:
“There were”strange noises coming from the right engine, and then, according to the guys sitting next to me, we swerved onto the grass and then swerved again, ending up at a sort of 45-degree angle across the runway for five minutes and accelerated with it.”
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Noises midflight
There have been multiple reports of passengers hearing noises midflight, and once the aircraft made its descent into Christchurch, the aircraft started to veer slowly as it touched down on Christchurch Airport’s runway. Jetstar has made a statement regarding the incident; however, information remains limited while Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAC) investigates:
After landing in Christchurch, the aircraft experienced a steering issue, causing it to veer on the runway at low speed and onto the grass. There were no injuries to passengers or crew. The aircraft was towed to the gate and all passengers disembarked. We’re working with Airbus and relevant authorities to investigate what happened. We understand this may have been a difficult experience for our customers and we thank everyone onboard for their cooperation.
Photo: Soos Jozsef | Shutterstock
Flights cancelled
Following the incident, the airport’s mairport’sy was closed for three hours while the runway was carefully inspected and cleaned. Friday morning flights were canceled for three hours, and the airport was able to resume normal operations by 10:40.
The aircraft received minor damage and was towed to the apron for further investigation. Data from Flightradar24 identifies the aircraft has since remained in Christchurch and is a 12-year-old Airbus A320-200 (MSN 5039). The plane was delivered to Jetstar directly from Airbus in March 2012 and is powered by two IAE V2527-A5 engines. A rotation to Rarotonga had taken place before the aircraft flight to Christchurch and had operated to schedule without signs of any hydraulic malfunction.
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