NZ | Airports + Aviation News

[metroman]

Supersonic jets were bound to make a comeback. The Concorde was always way ahead of its time. The new jet being talked about will carry around 300 people. In another 4 years if all goes to plan the Aeron business jet will be in operation, this is a small business jet. Supersonic jet travel may come about sooner than we expect. Realistically within 25 years is when we will see 5 hour flights to London. Who knows it maybe much sooner.

[Davee]

Originally Posted by jarbury

I've got a return flight to London coming up in a few months so I'll certainly be able to "enjoy" that experience. 12 hours to San Francisco was enough for me!

You poor bugger. It is the worst trip in the world - sorry.

I've done it so many times now, I've lost count. But when ever we do come to NZ, I normaly feel sick booking the tickets because of the 24hrs of purgetory that you have to go through.

Don't get me started...

[Davee]

Robby and I are off to New York and Chicago for a week soon. Only 7 hrs to NYC - not to bad. Love going to the States..............

[Davee]

Originally Posted by SYDNEY

Bon Voyage mate .... we are going to Melbourne and Sydney on the 17th of May ... I would have preferred to go and show Craigy London *jealous*

First time in Oz???? I think you'll love SYD & MEL the two true big smokes for our part of the world.

[KIWIKAAS]

I'm coming down in May for my work.
I'll stick a few days on for a family visit down south before heading up to a congres in Rotorua. On the way back I'm thinking of making a stop in Melbourne to visit and have a look around for the first time in 17 years - might finally catch up with Marky!?
Anyway, I've done the return trip between NZ and Europe v.v. 10 or 11 times now. I don't enjoy it very much but am used to it. Luckily for me I have been able to do 4 of those return trips in business class.

[Milan Luka]

In light of todays events, I bet we will see much stricter security at our provincial airports. Thankfully no one badly hurt but full credit to the crew on board whose actions seem to have averted a disaster. We might even make the international news.

We'll hear more as the day progresses.

[jarbury]

The lady sounded like a bit of a whack-job...

I mean seriously... what the fuck?

[Milan Luka]

And just in case you didnt know the score the following is taken from the Press website knowing nothing really about the situation all I can say is my heart goes out to that woman. Must have some real mental health issues.

Police said a mayday call was received at 7.40am from an Air New Zealand flight, NZ2279, operated by Eagle Air traveling from Blenheim to Christchurch.

The pilots on board reported that a female passenger had attacked them in the cockpit inflicting minor injuries. The injured pilots managed to lock the woman out of the cockpit, and landed the aircraft safely at 8.06am.

The woman, a identified as a 33-year-old Blenheim residentoriginally from Somalia, claimed to have two bombs on board.

All passengers safely disembarked upon landing.

Superintendent Dave Cliff said the woman was in custody within five minutes. A knife was found on her and another on the tarmac.

The six other passengers on board where taken to an airport conference room where they were being questioned by police.

Mr Cliff said one pilot received several cuts to his hand and another an injury to his foot. The injuries were not believed to be life threatening and the pilots are being treated in hospital.

The woman was also treated for minor injuries to her hand at the scene. Cliff said the plane was being thoroughly searched after the woman claimed to have two bombs on board.

None had so far been found, but the plane would soon be taken off the runway to a hangar where a thorough scene investigation could be carried out, he said.

The injured pilots were able to walk off the plane, but were taken to hospital.

Marlborough area police commander Inspector Steve Caldwell said the woman taken into custody was from Marlborough and Blenheim police were helping Christchurch police in making background enquiries about her.

[jarbury]

Yup sounds like a bit of a major nutcase. Sounds like there was some good thinking on behalf of the flight crew, otherwise it could have got really nasty. On a plane that small I imagine it would have just been the pilot and co-pilot.

[SYDNEY]

Goodness gracious me .... NZ has more than its fair share of weirdo's

[MonsieurAquilone]

Inevitably, prices for flights will go up due to all the expense in providing security in domestic now!! Gahh!!

[kegan]

The solution: issue flight crews a whiskey bottle. Seriously, a bottle of duty free has worked before.

Be interesting to see what happens on the provincial airport security front. Hopefully a well thought out a measured response rather than an over the top knee jerk reaction.

[Cartel]

Originally Posted by Milan Luka

In light of todays events, I bet we will see much stricter security at our provincial airports. Thankfully no one badly hurt but full credit to the crew on board whose actions seem to have averted a disaster. We might even make the international news.

Yeap. From the French Herald Tribune...

Woman passenger attacks pilots on New Zealand domestic flight

February 8, 2008

New Zealand: A Somali immigrant tried to hijack a New Zealand domestic flight Friday, stabbing both pilots, threatening to blow up the twin-propeller plane and demanding that it fly to Australia before she was subdued, police said.

The wounded pilots were able to land the plane safety in Christchurch, a popular tourist city, where police and emergency crews rushed onto the tarmac to arrest the suspect, evacuate the six other passengers and search the plane for bombs.

The airport was closed for about three hours. No bombs were found aboard the plane.

The pilot suffered a severely cut hand in the attack, and the co-pilot was injured on the foot, Christchurch police Commander Dave Cliff said. One passenger suffered a minor hand injury caused by the attacker, Cliff said. He did not explain how the woman was subdued.

Air New Zealand, the national carrier which operated the flight through a charter company, said it was reviewing security measures nationally following the incident. In New Zealand, passengers and their luggage on short-haul flights are not subject to security checks.

Cliff said the 33-year-old woman attacked the pilots about 10 minutes into the flight from the regional city of Blenheim, 70 kilometers (40 miles) south of the capital, Wellington, to Christchurch, about 350 kilometers (220 miles) south of the capital.

After the woman was subdued on board, the pilots made emergency radio calls reporting that she said there were two bombs on the plane, Cliff said.

Army and police bomb squads later searched the plane and the luggage, but found no explosives.

The woman demanded to be flown to Australia, a destination beyond the Jetstream aircraft's range, Cliff said.

The woman, who was not identified by name, was a Blenheim resident originally from Somalia, he said. She was charged with attempted hijacking, wounding and other offenses and was to appear in court in Christchurch on Saturday, police said.

The passengers included four New Zealanders, an Australian and an Indian national.

"Today's incident, although a one-off, has naturally given us cause to conduct a thorough review of our safety and security systems and processes on regional domestic flights," said Air New Zealand's general manager of short-haul airlines, Bruce Parton.

Last year, New Zealand adopted legislation allowing armed air marshals on international flights, but only if other nations required such measures. There are no marshals on domestic flights.

[SYDNEY]

Typical .. I should have guessed !

[Cartel]

I had no idea that such short haul flights were so lax on security..

[metroman]

They will probably put her in the nuthouse for 5 years and then deport her. If that was in the U.S. she would get 50 years and her head wouldn't see the light of day.

[KaneD]

What is interesting about the whole security debacle is that a passenger checking in at Blenheim for the turbo prop service to Christchurch does not get screened. Then, on arrival in Christchurch, they get off the plane and enter the secure AIRSIDE departure lounge, where they can then either board a JET aircraft bound for Auckland, or pass on any weapons to other persons - WITHOUT going through additional security.

Now hang on a minute... We aren't allowed to carry even a water bottle through a security checkpoint in Chch, yet, anyone with any slight level of intelligence who was planning something malicious can bypass the security and carry whatever they like on board as long as they check in at a regional airport.

Something clearly isn't right here? Or have I missed something? Please someone, tell me that it seriously isn't that easy to circumvent the security checkpoint?

Obviously this trick wouldn't work for international flights since you'd have to go through passport control etc at the international terminals and would get picked up there - But Sept 11 attacks weren't international flights either.

OK, maybe the Somali woman was a bit of an amateur and somewhat ill prepared for the hijack attempt and obviously didn't really think about the plane's flying range when she planned it. But what if she was a real terrorist threat with links to Al Quaeda etc, they would certainly have been more prepared and better equipped. Could it really happen that easily here?

[minimum chips]

I think you are exactly right. Same applies in regional airports in Australia as well. Easy to circumvent security if you are on a mission from god.

[kegan]

Ozjet proposes Palmerston North service
NZ Herald - 9:30AM Wednesday February 13, 2008

Australian airline Ozjet has proposed initially operating four days a week from Brisbane and Sydney to Palmerston North.

It has applied to move into the trans-Tasman vacuum created by the departure of Air New Zealand subsidiary Freedom Air from the end of March, The Australian newspaper reported today.

Ozjet wanted unlimited capacity to operate a two-class Boeing 737-300 service on the route for three years.

The airline said more than a quarter of the New Zealand population lived within 200km of Palmerston North.

"The wider community of the region centred on Palmerston North has experienced the convenience of services for 12 years and places considerable value on the availability of international links," it said.

"The Australian community has progressively increased its use of the services as a convenient and easy link into central New Zealand and for the first six months of 2007 the number of Australian passengers on the Sydney-Palmerston North sector exceeded the number of New Zealand passengers."

- NZPA

[Milan Luka]

Cessna vs Helicopter This kind of thing really upsets me, especially when it involves young pilots from Aero Clubs. Such a waste of a promising life.

Mid-air collision above Paraparaumu claims third life
6:35PM Sunday February 17, 2008
A young male pilot crashed his Cessna after a mid-air collision with a chopper. He later died in Wellington Hospital. The mid-air collision between a light plane and helicopter over Paraparaumu, north of Wellington today has claimed a third life.

The collision, at about 11.15am, resulted in two crash scenes - the helicopter falling through the roof of a timber yard at Placemakers, while the light plane hit the roof of a house about 200m away when it crash landed in Dennis Taylor Court, a cul-de-sac.

Two men in the Helipro helicopter died in the collision. The young pilot of the plane, a Kapiti Aero Club Cessna 152, was flown to Wellington Hospital in a critical condition but has since died. Police said the pilot died this afternoon in Wellington Hospital from multiple injuries. The pilot initially survived the crash, with police at the scene telling NZ Herald photographer Mark Mitchell he had to be "dragged from his aircraft".

One eye witness told NZPA the pilot, the sole occupant, was taken to hospital by ambulance. Eyewitness Anne Russell said she was watching the aircraft and thought they were getting too close to each other. Then the left wing of the plane heading west toward the airport clipped the tail of the helicopter that was heading south - broke the wing off the plane which spun to the ground. The chopper seemed to carry on in a straight line for a brief moment, then plummeted straight down to the ground at high speed.

"The scream of the chopper falling will haunt me for a while."

An 18-year-old Surf lifesaver from the Australian Gold Coast who was on holiday in Paraparaumu found himself helping to free the pilot from the plane wreckage. Ben McGee said he leapt two fences to reach the plane in the cul-de-sac after seeing it collide with a helicopter and spiral to the ground. He told Radio New Zealand the engine separated from the plane in mid-air but the body and tail of the plane landed upside down in the cul-de-sac.

- NZ HERALD STAFF, NZPA