The pilot of a World War II plane had an aborted take-off, switching the skies for a fence at a Blenheim airfield.
Fire and Emergency New Zealand were called to the Omaka Aerodrome on Aerodrome Rd just before 4pm on Friday after receiving reports of a plane that failed to take off, Southern shift manager Alex Norris said.
The pilot Graeme Frew was set the fly his Yak 3 “Full Noise”, but aborted his ascent as the plane went off the end of the runway, across the road, and landed in a fence instead.
At the scene, Frew’s wife Paula said the incident was “awful, but everyone’s OK”.
Two crews from Blenheim assisted with a small fuel leak at the scene, and there were no reports of injury, Norris said.
Graham Orphan of the Omaka Heritage Center said there were no injuries and no serious damage.
The pilot, who was an experienced aviator, was said to be a “bit shaken”, but was “philosophical” about the crash.
Orphan said the crash was a “shame” because she was one of the most beautiful planes at Omaka.
It’s expected there will be “some cost” to repair the plane, but Omaka had the most experience and know how in the Southern Hemisphere to fix it, Orphan said.
“There’s a feeling of sadness that she won’t be flying for a while – she was the star of the show.”
