Passengers on a Great Barrier Airlines flight had to be evacuated after a fire broke out in the plane as it was about to take off from Auckland Airport.
Airline chief executive Mark Roberts says the pilot noticed there was something wrong with the plane's brakes and started taxiing back to the terminal when the fire started about 8am.
He says the 11 passengers disembarked safely and were put on another flight to Great Barrier Island, about an hour and a half later.
Mr Roberts says engineers will inspect the 1980s Britten-Norman Trislander aircraft, and the Civil Aviation Authority will be notified of the incident.
