Photo: Screenshot / Wellington Flights Live
More details have emerged about the moments before an engine of an Air New Zealand plan caught caught fire coming into land in Wellington on Sunday.
All 40 passengers disembarked on the runway after the plane arriving from Christchurch landed trailing smoke and fire.
Dramatic video posted on social media showed the plane arriving with smoke billowing behind it, and one passenger told RNZ "people were scrambling, terrified".
The Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC) wanted to hear from anyone who saw the Air New Zealand plane on fire, including those on board.
In a statement, TAIC said the plane was about 300 feet from the runway when there was a warning about low oil pressure.
Chief investigator of accidents Louise Cook said there was then a warning about an engine fault, then another about an engine fire.
The pilot declared a mayday, and was able to safely land.
Cook said an inquiry has been launched and an investigation team was at the airport on Monday.
Inquiries were opened when an incident could have significant implications for transport safety or show areas for improvement, Cook said.
"The commission's purpose is to improve transport safety by avoiding repeat accidents, rather than by ascribing blame," she said.
"The investigation team's evidence collection work is broad at first to support the many routes that an investigation could follow. The initial focus is on gathering evidence that could disappear or change - including memories while they're fresh in people's minds.
"TAIC is also interested in the individual history, performance, maintenance, and equipment of this particular plane as well as its design."
A team of investigators were examining the plane, extracting electronic and hard copy data, and interviewing the crew on Monday and Tuesday, senior communications advisor Simon Pleasants said.
TAIC also wanted to hear from anyone who saw anything, including passengers - especially if they had video footage, he said.
"Getting the facts straight is really vital."
TAIC would be contacting passengers directly, he said.
It would be some time before the cause of the fire was understood, as aviation inquiries currently took an average of 18 months to two years to complete. It was unlikely the plane would be impounded, but investigators may remove items that could be later examined at TAIC's technical facility in Wellington, or sent overseas, he said.
Mary Longmore was travelling on the plane with her daughter, and said it was "incredibly scary" seeing sparks, then a lot of smoke, then flames coming out of the engine.
She said she told the steward the engine was on fire, and he called the captain.
"They hadn't said anything to us probably because they didn't want to panic people. Clearly the steward didn't know because I saw their faces when I told them that the engine was on fire."
Longmore believed she and her daughter were the first to see the flames.
"We were sitting literally right next to it, so the flames were just a few inches away outside the window, shooting out in a jet. It was smoke in the cabin, and you could smell it, it was quite acrid and then they said 'evacuate'."
Video showed passengers jumping from the emergency doors.
Anyone who saw what happened or has pictures or videos should email info@taic.org.nz.
