Passengers onboard an Air New Zealand flight were left enduring a terrifying few moments after their aircraft was forced to abandon its landing at the very last second as gale-force winds and heavy rain battered Wellington.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Flight NZ272 had travelled from Brisbane to the New Zealand capital on Friday, June 26, but what should have been a routine arrival quickly turned into an unexpected ordeal as severe weather made landing impossible.
The Airbus A321neo had already reached the runway during its first landing attempt when powerful wind shear forced the pilots to immediately abort the landing and climb away from the airport.
According to the New Zealand Herald, the aircraft’s main wheels briefly touched the runway before the crew executed a go-around, with the flight ultimately diverting to Christchurch instead – with the moment captured on camera by TikTok user @nickoz070.
Fortunately, there were no reports of injuries, and everyone onboard arrived safely.
Air New Zealand later confirmed that the crew followed standard safety procedures throughout the incident.
Chief Safety and Risk Officer Nathan McGraw explained exactly what happened during the dramatic approach.
“When the wind shear occurred, the standard procedure of initiating a go-around was executed, during which the main wheels momentarily touched the runway. Due to the weather conditions at Wellington, the pilots diverted to Christchurch and made a safe landing.”
The Airbus A321neo had departed Brisbane Airport shortly after 9:30AM following a slight delay and had been expected to arrive in Wellington around 2:45PM after a flight lasting just over three hours.
Instead, deteriorating weather over New Zealand’s North Island forced the crew to rethink their arrival.
After the unsuccessful landing attempt, the aircraft headed south to Christchurch, where it landed safely at approximately 3:25PM, extending the overall journey to around four hours.
Once on the ground, passengers were reaccommodated onto another Air New Zealand service to Wellington, while the aircraft later returned to normal operations.
The aircraft involved in the incident was registered ZK-NND, an Airbus A321neo delivered to Air New Zealand in February 2019. Configured with 214 all-economy seats, it regularly operates flights between New Zealand and Australia’s east coast.
The dramatic landing attempt was captured on video and has since spread across social media, with many viewers stunned by how close the aircraft appeared to be before suddenly climbing back into the air.
The challenging conditions were not unique to NZ272.
Gale-force winds caused widespread disruption across Wellington throughout the day, leading to multiple cancellations and diversions.
Another Air New Zealand service, flight NZ254 from Melbourne, was also unable to land and instead diverted to Auckland. At one stage it became one of the most tracked flights on Flightradar24 as travellers monitored the unfolding weather disruption.
Wellington Airport is well known among aviation enthusiasts for its difficult approaches.
Its location on the edge of Cook Strait, between New Zealand’s North and South Islands, frequently exposes aircraft to powerful crosswinds and wind shear as air funnels through the gap between the surrounding mountain ranges.
Despite its reputation, airlines operating into Wellington train extensively for these conditions, with go-arounds and diversions forming part of standard operating procedures whenever weather makes landing unsafe.
As the footage circulated online, thousands of viewers shared their reactions, with many admitting the experience would have been enough to put them off flying altogether.
One person wrote: “Omg I would never fly again”
Another commented: “scariest airport for landing in the world”
Others pointed out that difficult weather isn’t exclusive to Wellington.
One TikTok user shared their own experience, writing: “This was the same for me in Auckland a few years back, 4 attempts, finally landed after 30 mins of circle work, was the worst”
Many also praised the professionalism of the flight crew for making the decision to abandon the landing rather than take unnecessary risks.
One highly-liked comment simply read: “NZ pilot’s are some of the best in the world.”
While the footage may look alarming, aviation experts consistently stress that a go-around is a normal safety procedure designed to protect passengers whenever landing conditions become unstable.
In this case, the crew followed that procedure exactly as trained, diverting to an alternative airport where the aircraft landed safely before passengers continued their journey to Wellington.
Featured image credit: TikTok/@nickoz070 (screenshots)
