An Air New Zealand Plane Flies Over Mount Victoria
IN PHOTO: An Air New Zealand plane flies over houses in Mount Victoria as it approaches Wellington airport, October 7, 2011. Reuters/Marcos Brindicci

One of Air New Zealand's Dreamliners has been out of commission for a couple of days since it was hit by lightning. Burn marks can be seen on the aircraft's fuselage after the Air NZ Flight NZ175 was struck as it travelled from Auckland to Perth.

According to an Air New Zealand spokesperson, the incident led to the flight cancellation of passengers bound for Auckland from Perth. New Zealand Herald reported that engineers in Perth, Australia, had examined the Boeing 787-9 and cleared the aircraft to fly back to Auckland where the airline's full engineering support was located.

Although the plane was hit by lightning, the Dreamliner was able to land safely. The airline spokesperson said lighting strikes are "not uncommon," but the aircraft was designed to withstand this possibility. Previous reports have indicated that when lightning hits one part of the plane, it follows the outer surface the plane before "jumping" back into the air and leave burn marks in areas where it hit. The Dreamliner only left Perth after it was repaired and spare parts arrived.

Meanwhile, Air New Zealand is currently investigating reports of drunk airline crew members "cuddling" with the All Blacks players while on a flight to New Zealand from the United States. Reports said one of the cabin crew of Flight NZ1 from Los Angeles reportedly got drunk and abused another crew member. A second flight crew member was found cuddling a member of the All Blacks team.

In a statement released to media, Air New Zealand cabin crew general manager Leanne Langridge, has confirmed that seven members of the airline crew were travelling as passengers in the plane. She said the incident is under investigation and since it was an employment matter, Air New Zealand will not be giving any more comments.

New Zealand's official carrier is considering a new route to the U.S. as it expands operations in North America within 12 months. Stuff.co reports that Air New Zealand is targeting a route between Auckland and either Chicago, Houston or Las Vegas. All flights will be handled by the airline's new long-range Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners.