Aircraft cracks and ash cloud hit Air NZ flights

Air New Zealand suffered a series of natural and man-made problems today, causing a delays to its domestic passenger services.

Firstly, the airline discovered cracks in several of its light aircraft, and then a volcano spewed a dangerous cloud of ash into the skies above the North Island, disrupting domestic flight schedules.

Cracks were found in Air NZ's Beech 1900D aircraft

This morning (7 August) the airline revealed that it has been forced to ground its fleet of Beech 1900D after routine maintenance checks uncovered hairline cracks were found in the tail area of one of the light aircraft. The airline also later admitted that a more in-depth inspection had detected similar cracks in three of the first four aircraft inspected.

The aircraft are operated by Air NZ’s Eagle Air subsidiary on domestic routes in New Zealand, and the regional airline was forced to cancel its services yesterday while inspections were undertaken.

“We apologise to customers for the inevitable inconvenience caused by undertaking a full check of our fleet. However, the safety of our customers, our staff and our aircraft is paramount and non-negotiable for the airline,” said Eagle Air’s General Manager, Carrie Hurihanganui.

Meanwhile, the eruption of Mount Tongariro also affected some services in New Zealand’s North Island yesterday. Having initially said that it didn’t expect any delays or cancellations due to the volcanic ash cloud, Air NZ was later forced to ground at least three domestic flights, including those from Auckland to Gisborne, Napier and Hamilton. Other flights to Palmerstone North, Taupo and Rotorua suffered delays as the airline and NZ’s Civil Aviation Authority kept a watch on ash cloud’s movements.

Mount Tongariro has not erupted since 1897.