Passengers endure terrifying Air NZ flight after technical issues strike midair

Passengers on an Air New Zealand flight from Christchurch to Invercargill have had a frightening experience on Saturday. Their Dash 8 aircraft was forced to circle over Foveaux Strait seven or eight times while they were told three technical difficulties were addressed. Emergency services were on standby as the plane landed two hours later than expected. At around 2:30pm, authorities were on standby for an emergency landing. Issues with the landing gear were identified mid-air - forcing crew to circle about eight times around Invercargill and Bluff. In a statement to Newshub, Air New Zealand head of flight operations, Hugh Pearce, confirmed a landing gear fault had been detected. "The pilot made the decision to delay the landing to complete the necessary checks before carrying out a safe landing at Invercargill," he said. "The pilot notified air traffic control in accordance with standard operating procedures which resulted in a local standby at the airport." The first attempt to make a safe landing failed. Once the plane eventually touched down around 3pm the experience wasn't over yet. Passengers were stuck on board - needing to be towed back to the terminal.<br/>