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Post by corsair67 on Jan 22, 2008 12:32:38 GMT 12
Maybe they were looking for the Crunchie bars onboard the train? ;D
Paragliders 'buzz' tourist train journey By TOM CARDY - The Dominion Post | Tuesday, 22 January 2008
The Civil Aviation Authority will investigate the "very unsafe" actions of two paragliders who stunned passengers on the Kingston Flyer by gliding alongside the train.
Gisborne couple Alastair and Anna Marie Holmes, along with other tourists, could not believe their eyes when two paragliders appeared above the train on January 9 during its half-hour morning journey from Kingston, near Lake Wakatipu in Central Otago.
The two motorised paragliders dived and buzzed the train for several minutes, while Mrs Holmes was a passenger and Mr Holmes followed the train by car.
"Halfway along, I pulled over where there was a small country road and as it was coming towards me, these paragliders were buzzing down on the train. They were very fast-moving. They were going down level to the [train's] windows," Mr Holmes said.
"The two of them were trying to get as close as they could to the train. They were going through the steam and down either side.
"At times it was quite hair-raising - some of the turns and manoeuvres they were doing, and would have been totally their own fault if they had done something wrong."
The paragliders landed soon after at the station car park and left, but Mr Holmes said everyone appeared so surprised by what had happened, no one spoke to them.
Kingston Flyer spokesman Ken McAuliffe said he understood the train driver was not aware of what was happening as the paragliders flew near the back of the train.
"We have no idea who they were, apparently they were French," he said.
"I saw a couple of photos and I thought, `Man, Civil Aviation would love to see these."'
Civil Aviation Authority spokeswoman Emma Peel said the authority would check today whether it had received any complaints about the paragliders. But from Mr Holmes' description, it did appear to be dangerous behaviour, she said.
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Post by stu on Jan 22, 2008 15:03:03 GMT 12
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Post by Dave Homewood on Jan 23, 2008 10:42:22 GMT 12
Maybe they were after the hoarde of Crunchie bars in the train.
That would be real cool buzzing the steam train like that though.
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Post by flyjoe180 on Jan 23, 2008 11:17:10 GMT 12
Wouldnt want to fly through the steam as it comes out of the engine though, the wings would melt. Icarus died chasing Crunchie Bars
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Post by FlyNavy on Jan 23, 2008 14:06:22 GMT 12
Crunchie Bars? Emma Chisit? Emma (Peel -the fake one) is the best. Emma Peel from your CAA knows how to tell porkies (tongue in cheek like). ;D From the description: those paragliders were stupid.
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Post by flyjoe180 on Jan 24, 2008 11:56:27 GMT 12
Posted at 9:15am on 23 Jan 2008
Investigations are under way by the Civil Aviation Authority into reckless flying by two paragliders within metres of the Kingston Flyer train.
The incident on 9 January near Queenstown was notified to authority by a Gisborne man who photographed the pair flying beside and just above the train.
Paragliders are expected to maintain a height of 500 feet at all times.
Alastair Holmes, of Gisborne, has described what he saw while taking photos of the train as looking like stunts similar to those found in a James Bond movie.
Mr Holmes says the pair were swooping down almost like an eagle, above the train, through the steam and along both sides of the train. He says those on the train appeared unaware of what was occurring.
The authority says it knows the identity of the tourists who flew close to the train and will take action against them.
Sport and recreation manager Rex Kenny says he is also troubled by a wider problem. Too many would-be pilots, tourists and otherwise, are buying paragliders off the internet and launching off, with disastrous consequences.
Mr Kenny says there have been four cases of tourist pilots being seriously injured in accidents in the past year. He says the authority is planning a major safety education campaign but believes it will be difficult to target tourists, who are only in New Zealand for a short time.
Paragliders fear restrictions Paragliders say they are worried the cavalier attitudes of overseas pilots could lead to restrictions being imposed.
As well as the Kingston incident, the CAA has criticised a German man who became the first person to paraglide over Aoraki-Mt Cook in January. Gerry Mayr launched a powered paraglider from Fox Glacier and experienced severe turbulence during the flight.
The CAA says Mr Mayr's actions highlight the dangers hang gliding and paragliding pose. It says fatalities can occur without the right training and approach to safety.
The director of Skyline Tandem Paragliding in Queenstown, Thomas Rold, says tourist pilots could curb everyone's freedom if the authority is forced to tighten regulations. www.radionz.co.nz/news/latest/200801230915/caa_investigates_reckless_flying_over_kingston_flyer
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Post by FlyNavy on Jan 24, 2008 12:37:05 GMT 12
Makes sense to investigate the motorised idiots. You know it makes sense, even if Emma Peel was fibbing. Her Dad & Mum had a sense of humour.
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Post by flyjoe180 on Feb 3, 2008 11:52:24 GMT 12
A French paraglider pilot who "buzzed" the Kingston Flyer has had one of the infringement fines against him dropped.
Matheiu Rouanet was fined $500 for breaching the minimum flying height rule and $1000 for flying without a New Zealand pilot's licence during his flight on January 9.
However, the latter infringement was withdrawn yesterday, according to the New Zealand Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association, which certifies visiting pilots on behalf of the Civil Aviation Authority.
Its chief executive Ross Gray said there had been a communication breakdown as to what the Authority required in terms of pilot accreditation.
"The CAA's recent interpretation of our certification is that it doesn't go far enough to achieve what (they require). "Mr Rounanet did everything he thought he needed to do to gain certification in New Zealand. He wasn't at fault." Civil Aviation Authority spokesperson Emma Peel agreed the pilot had attempted to gain the correct certification to fly in New Zealand.
"It was an accepted defence that (Mr Rouanet) was not given enough information or he could have been given more. He has agreed to accept the other fine." She said the case had tested the certification process and changes would be made to ensure pilots knew their obligations. "This defence will never apply again."www.stuff.co.nz/southlandtimes/4384296a6570.html
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Post by FlyNavy on Feb 4, 2008 0:13:01 GMT 12
I guess this guy turned up in his CLOWN suit eh.
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Post by Brett on Feb 7, 2008 12:16:13 GMT 12
He may not have been wearing a clown suit, but he might have been carrying the trophy he won in the paraglider section at the Air Games in Wanaka just after Christmas. www.airsportslive.com/top-level/results/Does this mean that the overseas pilots competing in Wanaka may not have had the necessary CAA paperwork to do so?
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Post by DragonflyDH90 on Feb 7, 2008 18:35:37 GMT 12
Quite feasibly. As a competitor myself and seeing the vast number of different nationalities I would be surprised if half had the appropriate documents to satisfy NZCAA.
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