Fatigue cracks missed during an engine overhaul caused an Air New Zealand ATR72 turboprop to catch fire on approach to Wellington Airport, and the evacuation that followed took almost twice as long as the international benchmark, the Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC) found in a final report published today, 25 September 2026.
The incident happened on 1 September 2024. The ATR72-600, registered ZK-MVL, was flying from Christchurch to Wellington with 70 passengers and four crew on board when its left engine caught fire on final approach. The pilots declared a mayday, landed safely and stopped on the runway. The crew then discharged fire suppressant into the engine area, and although the fire was put out, the fire warning stayed lit, so the captain ordered everyone off the aircraft.
Nobody was seriously hurt and the damage was confined to the left engine. But the commission’s findings raise two separate concerns, one about how the engine was checked before it went back into service and another about how passengers behaved once the order came to get out.
Investigators traced the fire to a single low-pressure turbine blade that broke because of fatigue cracking. When it failed, it caused vibration and the failure of internal air seals, which let oil flow directly into the engine. That oil produced the smoke and flames that triggered the cockpit warning. TAIC’s summary says the cracking was not picked up during an overhaul of the engine that the manufacturer, Pratt & Whitney, had carried out the previous day. A second blade from the same engine also showed signs of fatigue, which suggested the problem was not a one-off flaw in a single part.
TAIC chief investigator of accidents Louise Cook described it to 1News as a “rare but serious technical failure”. She said “It shows why maintenance assurance processes need to be strong enough to detect signs of fatigue before components return to service.”
The commission has formally recommended that Pratt & Whitney Canada strengthen its overhaul quality assurance procedures so that pre-existing fatigue can be identified before engines are released. Its worry is broader than one aircraft, because the report notes the same gap increases the risk of other similarly faulty turbine blades re-entering service.
Air New Zealand chief safety and risk officer Nathan McGraw told 1News the report found no evidence that the airline’s own maintenance or operation contributed to the blade failure.
The evacuation is where the report turns its attention to the cabin. Aircraft are certified on the basis that everyone can get out within 90 seconds. On ZK-MVL it took 2 minutes and 51 seconds. TAIC says evacuations that run longer than the certification benchmark can increase the risk to life.
Several things slowed people down. According to 1News, nearly half of the passengers took their carry-on bags with them. Some were surprised by the size of the forward exits and struggled with them, having to step onto the bottom lip of the door and then jump nearly two metres to the ground. Some passengers suffered minor injuries getting out.
What happened after people reached the tarmac also worried investigators. Several passengers who left through the forward-left exit walked close to the left engine, the one that had just been on fire. TAIC says evacuating passengers must be told clearly what to do once they are outside, to reduce the risk of injury from hazards on the ground such as propellers, fire and wreckage.
“The crew landed safely and everyone got off the aircraft. But an emergency response doesn’t end when an aircraft reaches the runway,” Cook said. “Evacuation is critical, and this incident shows why crew need clear, well-practised procedures and passengers need to understand instructions … and follow them.”
The commission has made a second recommendation, this one to Air New Zealand, covering both the length of the evacuation and the management of passengers after they left the aircraft. It asks the airline to improve passenger briefings, safety cards and crew training, including clear instructions on where passengers should go once they are off the plane.
TAIC acknowledged work the airline already has under way. It welcomed Air New Zealand’s plans to develop a cabin emergency evacuation trainer, strengthen training on the ATR’s exits, update passenger briefing material and align the commands cabin crew give during an evacuation. Because that work is not yet fully in place, the commission chose to make a formal recommendation rather than simply note it.
McGraw said the airline was grateful to the crew who landed the aircraft and got passengers off. He acknowledged the evacuation “took longer than we would want”. He said “Real-world evacuations involve uncertainty, time pressure and different passenger responses, and there are valuable lessons from this event. We accept the findings and have already made changes to strengthen our training, procedures, and passenger safety information.”
TAIC’s safety message for passengers is a simple one. Pay attention to the briefings, leave your bags behind if told to evacuate, and follow crew instructions, including once you are outside the aircraft.
The report closes an inquiry that has taken just over two years. Earlier this month the commission released its interim findings on the Mount Aspiring helicopter crash. The full ZK-MVL report, inquiry AO-2024-006, is available on the commission’s website, and further coverage is on Stuff.
Have you ever been on a flight that had to be evacuated, or do you think most passengers really would leave their bags behind? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
This article was written by AI, briefed to report the facts, hopefully without some of the bias people bring to the job 🙂
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