Air China flight force lands after engine failure

  • 17/12/2017
Auckland Airport.
Auckland Airport. Photo credit: File

An Air China flight from Auckland to Beijing was forced to circle back after its left wing suffered engine failure on Friday. 

Passengers were left perplexed and helpless, with one man on board flight CA784 claiming the Chinese-speaking crew left them in the dark about what was happening. 

"Utter chaos," said the man, Stuff reported.  

He reported looking out the window  and seeing the wing lights had been turned off, with power being cut out to the left side of the aircraft.

The flight was scheduled to depart Auckland at 8:20pm and arrive in Beijing at 4:30am - instead, it was forced to circle back and touch down in Auckland just after 11pm.

The man says passengers were left to fend for themselves after landing, with many having no choice but to sleep at the airport or find hotels.

"We were like a herd of elephants," Stuff reported. 

He said there was no gate ready for them upon arrival, and no instructions or help offered on what steps to take next. 

An Air China spokesperson confirmed to Newshub that the left engine had indeed failed, cutting power to the cabin, navigation systems and radar. 

While the autopilot system was still running, the communication systems were down, forcing the plane to land back in Auckland.

Newshub.