Two a penny

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A Queenstown commercial pilot had to chase his light plane, with passengers on board, after it began speeding towards the runway without a pilot at the controls.

The Transport Accident Investigation Commission is investigating the incident involving a Cessna 207, owned by Milford Sounds Scenic Flights, getting “out of control” at Queenstown Airport last month.

“During that time the aircraft took off by itself,” Mr Mathews said.

Commission deputy chief investigator Ken Mathews said the pilot got out of the aircraft when the engine wouldn’t start and used his hands to get the propeller moving.

It did not go on to the main runway or disrupt flights.

The pilot managed to get into the aircraft while it was moving and control it before any harm was done, Mr Mathews said.”

The Milford Sounds Scenic Flights aircraft was scheduled to fly to Milford Sound when it began moving without its pilot.

“But there were other aircraft about, so it wasn’t a good thing.

There was a person in the cockpit, but it was unclear what their role or qualifications were, he said. .

Milford Sounds Scenic Flights director Mark Quickfall said the pilot was stood down after the incident and safety procedures improved to ensure aircraft did not set off without their pilots.

The aircraft could carry up to six passengers but it was unclear how many passengers were in the Cessna at the time of the incident, Mr Mathews said. “Our report to the (Civil Aviation Authority) included actions to prevent this happening again.

“It was a serious incident and error of judgment by the pilot,” he said. He declined to comment further on the incident until the investigations had been completed.” The company reported the incident immediately to the Civil Aviation Authority, Mr Quickfall said.

The commission had not provided a completion date for its investigation.

Queenstown Airport chief executive Steve Sanderson said he was aware of the incident but would not comment.

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Actor Patrick Swayze, whose turn as a smoldering dance instructor in Dirty Dancing made him one of the iconic film stars of the 1980s, has died after a long battle with pancreatic cancer at the age of 57.

Swayze, an actor and dancer who cemented his status as sex symbol opposite Demi Moore in the 1990 romance Ghost, died at his home.

Swayze became one of Hollywood’s top stars with 1987’s Dirty Dancing, which defied Hollywood expectations to become one of the most-watched movies of all time. .

Swayze was diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer, one of the most deadly forms of the disease, in January 2008.

The Texas-born actor played the swaggering dance instructor Johnny Castle in the film opposite Jennifer Grey’s sheltered teenager Frances “Baby” Houseman, who becomes smitten with him while on vacation at a New York resort during the 1960s. Pancreatic cancer sufferers are only given a five percent chance of survival. He said at the time that the cancer had already spread to his liver.

The series was broadcast in America earlier this year.

But he vowed to fight the disease and had treatment with an experimental drug, surprising Hollywood by filming a new detective series for television called The Beast in which he played the lead role..

“I think everybody thought I was out of my mind . thinking I’m gonna pull off a TV show,” Swayze said in an interview in January 2009, adding that he was scared and angry at his diagnosis..

Dirty Dancing, which was made for a modest budget and almost scrapped by its studio, became a massive box-office hit, earning Golden Globe nominations for both stars and spawning the Oscar-winning hit single (I’ve Had) The Time of My Life.

Swayze was working on a memoir with his wife of more than 30 years, Lisa Niemi, earlier this year.

Swayze co-wrote and performed the song She’s Like the Wind for the movie’s soundtrack, which went to No.

Producers did not have high hopes for the film but it reaped US$64 million at the US box office and US$214 million worldwide. The film remained widely popular more than two decades later and recently spawned a stage musical version. 3 on the pop music charts.

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Auckland University scientists have developed technology to power a wire-free heart pump that could save the lives of thousands of heart patients.

It could eventually offer an alternative to heart transplants.

It weighs only 92 grams and can be powered 24 hours a day for the wearer’s lifetime.

The pump uses magnetic fields to transfer power through a patient’s skin, rather than using wire cables.

A new company, TETCor, was created to take the technology for powering a wide range of devices implanted in the human body to market.

The new technology came out of collaboration between scientists from Auckland University’s Bioengineering Institute, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Department of Physiology. The existing method, using a wire cable that goes through the stomach and chest caused serious infections in about 40 percent of patients, and sometimes death.

TETCor chief executive Simon Malpas said heart pumps needed a huge amount of power.

The new wire-free version uses a coil outside a person’s body to generate a magnetic field.

The wires were also prone to breaking and restricted a patient’s activities. . A second coil placed inside the body, near the collar bone, picks up the signal from this field and creates power for the pump.

Dr Malpas saw the potential market as 50,000 people each year globally, within 10 years. The two companies plan to work together to combine the power transfer technology with the pump technology, and plan to begin patient trials within 24 months. If these pumps stop, you only have about one minute to live.

“It’s probably the most extreme implantable medical device you can get.”

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Dunedin’s mayor and city MP Pete Hodgson want the controversial Undie 500 rally out of Dunedin for good.

The rally once more descended into chaos last night, with Dunedin police forced to wear riot gear and use pepper spray to disperse student mobs. .The annual Undie 500 event, organised by Canterbury University engineering students, involves a pub crawl from Christchurch to Dunedin, in cars worth under $500.The 70 officers took about two hours to disperse the students.Hodgson, who represents Dunedin North, told Radio New Zealand it’s time to put a stop to the event. This is the third consecutive year the rally has led to disorder.Mayor Peter Chin said the Undie 500 isn’t welcome in Dunedin, and suggested the Canterbury students trash their own city instead, RNZ reported.Last year’s official Undie 500 was cancelled after rioting in the city resulted in 69 arrests the previous year.The event has previously caused headaches for Dunedin police left to control riotous behaviour at the end of the trip.Most of last night’s action centred in the three blocks around Castle Street, with mobs setting furniture and piles of rubbish on fire in Castle and Leith streets, Dunedin Area Commander Inspector Dave Campbell said.However, an unofficial version of the event still ran and 30 arrests were made after another round of disorder.Flying bottles hit two or three other people, who had to be taken away by ambulance for treatment.One officer was hit in the head and knocked down with a hurled bottle, and would have been seriously injured if not for his helmet, he said.Mr Campbell said there would be a boosted police presence this weekend and anyone arrested would gain a criminal record, due to a no-diversion policy.Mr Campbell said there would be a boosted police presence this weekend and anyone arrested would gain a criminal record, due to a no-diversion policy.They faced a variety of charges, ranging from disorderly behaviour and breaching the liquor ban to wilfully setting fire to property.Most of those arrested were Otago University students, Mr Campbell said.”We are happy we have been able to stabilise the crowd without exerting our authority too much,” he told the Otago Daily Times.The officer in charge of the police response, Inspector Alistair Dickie, said they had chosen to take a softer approach this year and were relatively pleased with how things turned out last night. We are pleased at the moment.”We could have sparked something here.”

. Hopefully, I don’t eat my words

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Travellers between New Zealand and Australia will be able to use electronic passport control and bypass queues for baggage screening from the end of this year.

Prime Minister John Key and his Australian counterpart Kevin Rudd have just outlined details of a new streamlined Trans-Tasman travel arrangement at a joint press conference in Canberra today. .

Australia already has the kiosks and New Zealand passport holders are able to use them now.

The kiosk will also be available to departing passengers in Auckland from late next year and in Wellington and Christchurch by mid-2011.

Only New Zealand and Australian passport holders are eligible and they must have one of the new biometric passports, issued since 2005.

Smart Gate allows travellers aged over 18 with a new electronic passport containing a biometric chip to be able to scan their own passports and use facial biometrics technology to identify themselves and proceed to departure gates without going through immigration control.

At the same time most Kiwi and Australian passengers arriving in New Zealand will no longer automatically have their baggage screened, under changes announced by MAF.

But an increase in passenger numbers has made this increasingly difficult.

All travellers arriving in New Zealand have had their luggage screened since 2001 when the government ordered 100 percent x-raying in response to a foot and mouth disease outbreak in Britain.

Instant fines for bringing risk goods into New Zealand will double, however, from $200 to $400.

Australia does not screen all luggage and already has a “direct exit” lane for low-risk passengers.

The change falls some way short of full passenger pre-clearance as occurs in EU countries and between Ireland and the United States but Queensland University is to undertake an “Airports of the Future” research project looking at full integration of Trans-Tasman travel.

Officials are also exploring the use of x-ray image transfer allowing bags to be screened in one country at departure and images viewed by arrivals officials while an aircraft is still in the air.

Key said the changes announced today were just the first step but would mean more people would get a faster exit from border control.

Key said the changes announced today were just the first step but would mean more people would get a faster exit from border control.”

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A New Zealander has set a new land speed record in Utah this morning.

Dean Veale, 44, from Kaukapakapa, north of Auckland, set the new land speed record - for the 1650cc A-G class of motorcycles - at the Bonneville Salt Flats.

With the existing record for the class standing at 191. He was riding “White Elephant”, his special construction Hayabusa engine motorcycle.5mph (311.593mph (305kph), Veale confirmed his initial record breaking run yesterday with a backup run this morning (local time) that set the new record at 194.

This morning’s conditions were apparently near perfect for the record setting run.2kph). .

A statement released this morning said Veale had been concerned something might force him to have to repeat his runs.

Only at that point did Veale relax, and revealed the purpose of a pipe which ran along the bottom left-hand side of White Elephant/

“Releasing the retaining clip and removing the custom made aluminium cap, Veale pulled a Bunnings umbrella from the pipe: ‘I’d been told it got hot here and didn’t want to sit in the sun and cook, so I packed some shade’,” the statement said. Extending his hand toward Veale the inspector offered his congratulations as he confirmed the record with the words ‘Welcome to the record books’.

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Aucklanders may see the return of trams trundling along the Waitemata waterfront if the ARC gets its way.

The Auckland Regional Council is “examining into the feasibility” of a light rail or tram system along the Waitemata Harbour waterfront.

The Government’s decision to buy and redevelop Queens Wharf, with public spaces and a cruise ship terminal, added impetus to examining at public transport options, said ARC Transport and Urban Development Committee chairwoman Christine Rose.

Planners estimate when people stroll the so called Wynyard Quarter at the waterfront seven out of 10 trips will be taken on public transport, walking or cycling.

“Light rail or heritage trams should be considered in any public transport options for Wynyard Quarter and Quay St as part of the area’s redevelopment,” she said.

She said planning had not previously looked at the use of light rail, but the regional council wanted to put that up as an option.”

The feasibility study into light rail for the waterfront will provide information on the potential demand for light rail and how it was used in comparable waterfront cities.

“We are striving to add to existing heritage and character, and to enhance Auckland’s waterfront viability and experience for workers, tourists and Aucklanders at large.

A report to the ARC transport committee today said modern light rail trips were being used for peak hour commuting as part of transport networks throughout the world..

In Auckland, a loop linking Wynard Quarter, Quay St and Britomart could be part of a wider transport solution for the city.

Or they were used in short loops often aimed at tourists.

*What do you think of the proposal? below. Progress on the feasibility study will be reported back to the Transport and Urban Development Committee in November.

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Business is booming for comedians as New Zealanders seek light relief from the constant recessionary diet of doom and gloom.

Invercargill mayor and funny man Tim Shadbolt says he has never seen demand for comedy shows so high.

“As a part-time comedian I’m flat down to the boards at the moment.

“I just can’t keep up with all the appointments. I used to do shows one weekend a month, but now it’s suddenly gone to three weekends a month, and it could easily be more.

Despite the recession, Auckland’s season saw attendance rise 38%, from 53,172 to 73,559, while Wellington’s attendance figures rose 66%, from 18,939 to 31,399.”

Shadbolt’s experience is borne out by figures recently released by the organisers of the New Zealand International Comedy Festival, which show this year’s festival broke all previous records by attracting a crowd of more than 118,000 people between May 1 and 24 - up 50% on last year.

“Humour is the best anecdote to the doom and gloom pervading our country at the moment . . . People can’t afford to buy a new car or a new fridge, but they can afford to pay $25 for a comedy show so they can laugh for two hours,” says Shadbolt. A lot of people are taking this remedy.

Telephone counselling service Lifeline is experiencing an increase in calls about financial issues and there has been a considerable rise in the uptake of youth depression support services.

And, judging by the growing number of calls being fielded by 0800 helplines, some laughter in people’s lives is sorely needed.

Lifeline Aotearoa general manager Anil Thapliyal says: “Right now more people are worried about money matters and are experiencing distress brought about by demise of their financial security and even contemplating suicide.

Lifeline Aotearoa general manager Anil Thapliyal says: “Right now more people are worried about money matters and are experiencing distress brought about by demise of their financial security and even contemplating suicide. Callers can discuss their situation with a trained counsellor who can offer information and advice on what to do and about the services available in their localities.”

* The Depression Helpline (0800 111-757) provides support from 8am until midnight.depression. Or they can log on to www.nz. .

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A bruised teenage girl clung to the wreckage of a Yemeni plane for more than 13 hours before rescuers found her floating in the Indian Ocean, a French official said on Wednesday.

There was no word on any other survivors, but French officials said one of the plane’s black boxes had been found.An Associated Press reporter saw 14-year-old Bahia Bakari in a Comoros hospital Wednesday as she was visited by government officials.The Yemenia Airbus 310 jet carrying 153 people to island nation of Comoros crashed into the sea early Tuesday as it attempted to land in the dark amid howling winds.”It is a true miracle. She was conscious with bruises on her face and a gauze bandage on her elbow. “She held onto a piece of the plane from 1:30 a. She is a courageous young girl,” Alain Joyandet, France’s minister for international cooperation, said at the hospital.m.m to 3:00 p. Her father arrives tomorrow. She has lost her mother.Kassim Bakari said he spoke with his oldest daughter by phone after Tuesday’s crash.”The girl’s father told French radio that his daughter was “fragile” and could “barely swim” but managed to hang on.He said she was ejected and found herself beside the plane. Bahia had left Paris on Monday night with her mother to see family in the Comoros. She heard people speaking around her but she couldn’t see anyone in the darkness,” Bakari said on France’s RTL radio.”She couldn’t feel anything, and found herself in the water.”Said Mohammed, a nurse at El Mararouf hospital in the Comoros capital of Moroni, said the girl was doing well and doctors would release more on her condition later Wednesday. “She’s a very timid girl, I never thought she would escape like that. Said Abdilai told Europe 1 radio that Bahia was too weak to grasp the life ring rescuers threw to her, so he jumped into the sea to get her.Sgt.The crash a few kilometers off this island nation came two years after aviation officials reported equipment faults with the plane, an aging Airbus 310 flying the last leg of a Yemenia airlines flight from Paris and Marseille to the Comoros, with a stop in Yemen to change planes. He said rescuers gave the trembling girl warm water with sugar. Sixty-six on board were French nationals. Sixty-six on board were French nationals.Turbulence was believed to be a factor in the crash, Yemen’s embassy in Washington said.Gen. Bruno de Bourdoncle de Saint-Salvy, the senior commander for French forces in the southern Indian Ocean, said the Airbus 310 crashed in deep waters about 14.4 kilometers north of the Comoran coast and 34 kilometers from the Moroni airport.A French military cargo plane flew Wednesday over a zone 80 kilometers north of Grand Comoros Island, while two inflatable dinghies sent by French forces on La Reunion island combed waters closer to the coast.”The search is continuing,” Joyandet said. “No other survivors have been found for the moment.”Col. .A French tug arrived from the French island of Mayotte to recover survivors, corpses and debris, while a French frigate diverted from anti-piracy operations, the Nivose, and another French military ship headed to the scene.Both France and Airbus sent experts to the Comoros to aid in the investigation.The tragedy - and dwindling hopes that anyone else made it out alive - prompted an outcry in Comoros, where residents have long complained of a lack of seat belts on Yemenia flights and planes so overcrowded that passengers had to stand in the aisles.The Comoros, home to some 700,000 people, is an archipelago of three main islands situated 2,900 kilometers south of Yemen, between Africa’s southeastern coast and the island of Madagascar.French aviation inspectors found a “number of faults” in the plane’s equipment during a 2007 inspection, French Transport Minister Dominique Bussereau said.European Union Transport Commissioner Antonio Tajani said the airline had previously met EU safety checks but would now face a full investigation amid questions why passengers were put on another jet in the Yemeni capital of San’a.The vice president of Comoros criticized French officials for not telling his nation about any suspected problems.”We wish the French could have informed us of any irregularity or any problems with that plane,” Idi Nadhoim said Wednesday on France-24 television.”Most if not all of the planes of Yemenia are Airbus,” he said. “They are supposed to be serviced by Airbus.”"We trust the civil aviation authorities of the countries we are working with,” he added, suggesting that French authorities discriminated against “those French who are left by themselves to fly this type of plane” - French citizens from former French colonies.Airbus said the plane that crashed went into service 19 years ago, in 1990, and had accumulated 51,900 flight hours. It has been operated by Yemenia since 1999.

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A 19-year-old Dunedin man who tortured and killed a dog has been jailed for a year – the longest sentence yet for animal cruelty.

Jeffrey Hurring, a supermarket shelf-filler, tortured an 18-month-old male Jack Russell for 30 minutes, before killing it with a spade on February 2.

He was sentenced in Dunedin District Court to 12 months’ jail and barred from owning an animal for 10 years, The Otago Daily Times reported. .

Hurring admitted killing the dog, named Diesel and owned by a friend, by first trying to strangle it using a chain, his hands and his feet.

Judge Stephen O’Driscoll said the maximum previous sentence handed down in New Zealand for cruelty to an animal was nine months’ jail, but the cruelty of this case was a significant aggravating factor in sentencing.

The impact broke the dog’s back and jaw, killing it.

Hurring was ordered to pay $1178.

SPCA national chief executive Robyn Kippenberger hailed the sentence and said it “sends a very clear message”.50 reparation to the SPCA and to continue counselling for his drinking and other issues related to his offending for at least six months after his release from prison.

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