Passengers on the plane that veered off the runway at Christchurch this morning have spoken about their experience — describing the moment the landing went wrong.
Caoimhe Tulloch and Katie Bilbrough had woken up early to take the flight to Christchurch for a friend's 21st birthday.
Bilbrough joked they'd "definitely" need a drink after the wild landing.
Tulloch told 1News it was a "really smooth flight, even the landing" before the incident.
"It was probably about, like, 10 seconds after we landed," she said. "The plane just started to speed up really fast.
"Then, all of a sudden, we swerved really quickly, and then the plane just kind of stopped."
Tulloch said it felt like they'd hit something and "there was a bit of a funny noise".
"We realised we were kind of diagonal on the grass and then, we waited," she added.
"The pilot said there were issues and we had to wait for further instruction.
"Everyone was just a bit shocked... it all happened quite quickly and suddenly."
The pilot told passengers there had been a hydraulic leak, Tulloch continued.
"Definitely my craziest plane story," she said.
Bilbrough said she was focused on the "really nice view" outside when the plane came in to land.
A spokesperson for the airport said the aircraft would be towed to the gate for passengers to disembark. (Source: Supplied)
"It was a very short landing, usually it kind of takes a while to stop the plane but it was quite short," she said. "And then they stopped.
"I think we skidded on some grass, and ended up diagonally," she added.
Both Bilbrough and Tulloch agreed it would've been scarier if they'd been alone.
"I definitely would've been s**t scared if I was by myself," Bilbrough said. "I think we were all just really confused.
"I think it's, like, a fun story to tell my friends, but it was definitely a lot to handle at the time."
A noise earlier in the flight?
Andi Burrell, another passenger on the flight, said there had been a noticeable noise earlier during the flight.
"About half an hour in, you actually heard a mechanical noise coming from the right hand side."
Another person also contacted 1News this morning to say they'd heard "an unusual loud noise" while the plane was in the air.
"I didn't think anything of it," said Burrell. "[But] it was unusual."
'It was a sudden stop'
Passenger Sofia Hassounia said she was "a bit shaken up".
"You could tell the pilot was trying to slow down the plane but it was too fast [after landing].
"Then all of a sudden he kind of just started up again, got really fast. It felt like he did, like, a sharp turn... It was a sudden stop," she added.
"It felt like a really long time but I think it was quite a short ordeal.
"Then all of a sudden we were surrounded by firetrucks and ambulances."
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