A Chilean P3 Orion aircraft made an emergency landing at a New Zealand airport after having to shut down one of its engines

A Chilean P3 Orion aircraft made an emergency landing at a New Zealand airport Thursday after having to shut down one of its engines, the Marlborough Express newspaper reported.

The flight crew declared an emergency at 1:31 p.m., but the plane landed safely at Blenheim Airport, in the north of the South Island, 15 minutes later, airport manager Dean Heiford told the newspaper.

"It was a perfect landing," he reportedly said.

Warrant Officer John Bray told the paper the nearby Woodbourne Air Force base was put on standby and two fire engines and an ambulance were sent to the runway.

Two scheduled Eagle Air flights were delayed for a short time, but flights had since resumed.

Safe Air general manager Heather Deacon confirmed the Orion had been in Blenheim this week for maintenance with Safe Air, an Air New Zealand subsidiary.

"My engineers will be looking at it now," she told the paper. She refused to release any other details without the permission of aircraft's owner.

The report said the aircraft was carrying 11 naval officers.

Posted in: A Chilean P3 Orion aircraft made an emergency landing at a New Zealand airport after having to shut down one of its engines