Breaking NZ News

[CreatureArt]

Crazy, crazy news from kiwiland...

A light aeroplane was stolen from Ardmore Airport in South Auckland this evening and the pilot threatened to crash the plane into the Sky Tower. He crashed in the sea of St Heliers Bay, however, and rescue teams are currently trying to rescue the pilot.

I just thought I'd let you know. Things like this don't really tend happen in NZ. If/when I hear more news (especially about what the heck it was about: (ie if he was drunk, pulling a prank or serious) I'll let you know. There might not be much more news tonight, however. If nothing more is known, I'll see if I can update tomorrow morning.

<<EDIT>>
Note: This is the same night as our country's national elections, so it could have something to do with that. At the moment, no-one's really sure and there aren't any ideas being put forward on the news yet.

[Hephzibah]

lol, silly Kiwis! I'm willing to bet it was a drunk guy... maybe even an Aussie Btw, how are the elections going? Who are you supporting?

[CreatureArt]

Labour and National are crazily tied on about 40% each with the rest of the parties pulling in small %s. My Dad supports National, but I get disgusted with politicians really easily (I went to visit parliament once on a school trip...) so I don't really support any parties right now. Luckily, I'm not old enough to vote so I dont have to worry .

You're right: it was probably an Aussie. I hope that this doesn't interfere with our plans of world domination! On a more serious note, I'm not too worried but am watching the story carefully in case it is revealed that there is more to it than what's been broadcast so far, and if there might be further threats. It seems unlikely with whats been said so far but there's not much known yet so I'm keeping watch.

Hmm... this is the extent of the story so far:

Plane crashes after buzzing city
Sep 17, 2005

Police are trying to reach the pilot of an aircraft which has crashed into the sea off Kohimarama in east Auckland.

The pilot of the light plane had earlier threatened to crash the M.B.O. aircraft into the Sky Tower which at 328 metres high is the one of the tallest structures in the southern hemisphere.

The plane was earlier reported stolen from Ardmore Airport in Manukau City.

The police helicopter followed the plane after the pilot made unspecified threats, and the Sky Tower was evacuated.

The crash was close to National Party leader Don Brash's house in St Heliers. One unconfirmed report said the man had threatened to crash the plane into Brash's house.

Earlier in the evening, diplomatic protection staff were called to the Auckland home of Prime Minister Helen Clark as the incident with the plane developed.

There was no immediate word on how many people were aboard or if
they were injured.

[shooraijin]

Gentle request: although most of the political threads get spawned on American topics, please keep Aussie and NZ politics out of it also. Thanks ^_^

[Kisa]

Wow, yea NZ is such a peacful country... I would never think that that would happen there... goes to show that even you all are getting hit by this crazy terrorist stuff.
I've been there and lived in Australia, and this is just weird.... keep us updated!

[CreatureArt]

Gentle request: although most of the political threads get spawned on American topics, please keep Aussie and NZ politics out of it also. Thanks ^_^

Sure thing. Sorry about that.

Wow, yea NZ is such a peacful country... I would never think that that would happen there... goes to show that even you all are getting hit by this crazy terrorist stuff.
I've been there and lived in Australia, and this is just weird.... keep us updated!

Actually, we're not sure yet if it was a terrorist attack or not. It doesn't look like it so far. Yeah, since we have such a small population we don't tend to have 'exciting' things happen in terms of disasters/crisis. We're had some bad flooding and a bit of hurricane problems with bad Spring weather, but usually that's all we ever run into.

UPDATE:
The pilot survived... this should be interesting. Hopefully we'll find out his motives.

Pilot survives plane crash after drama
Sep 18, 2005

A light plane crashed into the sea off Kohimarama in Auckland on Saturday night after a two-hour drama over Auckland during which the pilot threatened to crash the plane into the Sky Tower.
The single engine aircraft plunged into the water about 50 metres off the beach shortly after 9.30pm.
The pilot, who is now in Auckland hospital with moderate injuries, was rescued by two men.
The pilot is described as a middle aged man with no apparent police history.
He had earlier told police he was going to crash the plane into the Sky Tower.
Police said he made threats but would not say what they were.
The plane, which was owned by a flying school, was stolen from Ardmore Airport in Manukau City earlier in the evening.
The threat to crash the plane saw the Sky Tower emptied of about 500 people.
Staff at the Auckland tourist attraction cleared the main tower and two restaurants immediately after they were alerted to the threat by police.
Sky City says customers were grumpy about having to leave. The tower will stay closed for the rest of Saturday night.
At 328 metres high, the Sky Tower is the one of the tallest structures in the southern hemisphere.
Inspector Jim Wilson says police are confident there was no significant threat to the public or buildings during the incident.
Wilson says comments from people at the scene saying a helicopter had forced the plane into the ocean are not accurate, and he doesn't know why the crash happened.