An Air New Zealand Boeing 777-300ER was ferried from Brisbane, Australia to Auckland, New Zealand after sustaining fuselage damage from hitting a jet bridge. The flight was originally scheduled to fly NZ146 from Brisbane to Auckland. Passengers were accommodated and rebooked within 24 hours.
The collision with the jet bridge resulted in a 7cm wide hole in the fuselage just under the captain’s window. The airline consulted with Boeing before making the decision to return the aircraft to its home in Auckland.
The aircraft, ZK-OKN, was ferried to Auckland on Sunday afternoon local time as NZ6000. The aircraft flew at 9,000 feet, unpressurized, with no passengers and cargo.
To put it simply, the plane couldn’t be pressurized with the hole, and hypoxia becomes an issue at over 10,000 feet. This is pretty much standard procedure given the situation.
The flight took 3 and a half hours, which is about an hour longer than it usually takes. For many reasons, flying at the lower altitude is less efficient both in terms of fuel and speed.
Air New Zealand noted that this aircraft had scheduled maintenance in Singapore coming up. After repairs are done in Auckland, the aircraft will be sent to Singapore as originally planned, and the airline does not expect any effects on its operations.
Featured image by Jordan Tan, Shutterstock.
