Investigation following 'freaky' take-off

A former Invercargill woman on board the Pacific Blue flight which took off in near darkness and bad weather from Queenstown last month thought the plane would crash into the side of the Remarkables.

Julia McClean (23), a former member of the New Zealand women's ski team, told the Otago Daily Times from Sydney yesterday she thought it was "fantastic" the incident was being investigated.

"I was so freaked out ... the [ascent] was so turbulent, we went so low ... over the lake and then tried to go really steep across the Remarks [the Remarkables mountain range] - I thought we were going to crash into the side of the mountain.

"I actually thought `this could be bad' ...

I don't want to be too dramatic, but I was scared."The Boeing 737, flying from Queenstown to Sydney with 140 passengers and crew aboard, was due to leave at 4.20pm on June 22, but took off at 5.25pm - 20 minutes past the 5.05pm cutoff on one of the shortest days of the year.

Under Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) guidelines, planes must depart no later than 30 minutes before twilight from Queenstown Airport, which is surrounded by mountainous terrain and has no radar or runway lights.

CAA is investigating the incident and Pacific Blue announced yesterday the pilots had been stood down, which was standard practice in such investigations.

On June 20, another Pacific Blue flight came to the CAA's attention, and is being investigated, following a "loss of separation" between it and a Qantas plane when approaching Queenstown Airport at 10.40am.

Of the June 22 incident, Pacific Blue spokesman Phil Boeyen said the plane took off "a few minutes" after daylight hours and the company was co-operating with investigators.

"The airline has an internal procedure that aircraft at Queenstown should take off a minimum of 30 minutes before evening twilight.

"On this occasion, the aircraft took off about 26 minutes before evening twilight," he said.

Miss McClean was in Queenstown visiting her parents and flying out of the resort as she had done about 20 or 30 times.

However, she was floored when the plane began to taxi, describing the experience as "just freaky".

"I couldn't believe it.

"The storm came in and we were running quite late anyway ... it was pouring down and windy."

The passengers boarded the plane between 4pm and 4.15pm, she said, and were then told the flight would be delayed as it was "too rough to take off".

They were later informed it was "most likely" they would stay the night in Queenstown.

"They gave us an update after about an hour of waiting that we would go to the runway and if the wind ceased and it was still light ... that we would depart," Miss McClean said.

"Without any warning or update, the plane fired up down the runway and took off.

"I couldn't believe it was happening.

"The weather was as bad as it had been at the start and to make it worse it was almost dark ... it was really bad outside, really windy."

Miss McClean said passengers appeared to be in shock and "a bit confused" when the plane took off. "When I touched down in Sydney I called my parents - I was just so angry ...

When she saw the flight was being investigated she thought "that's fantastic".

Queenstown Airport Corporation chief executive Steve Sanderson said it was the "pilot in command" of any aircraft who made decisions to fly or otherwise.

QAC was in charge of providing a safe airport, while Airways New Zealand was in charge of the skies, which included aircraft safety, separation and runway traffic.

Airlines had to operate under CAA guidelines.

"We were aware of it [the incident], but it's for Pacific Blue and the CAA to [deal with]."

CAA spokesman Bill Sommer said investigators would speak to the pilot, the airline and witnesses about the incident, determining what happened and circumstances around it.

One witness, Queenstown harbourmaster Marty Black, said it was "virtually dark" when the plane took off into a front and heavy fog.

"It was just a complete white out," Mr Black said.

He said the plane had been flying "abnormally low".

"It didn't climb at all.

"I wouldn't have expected it to be flying that low and into a front."

Prime Minister John Key said yesterday he had seen only media reports on the incident, but if the reports were accurate "then they would be very concerning".

"My understanding is that Civil Aviation will be investigating the matter, and rightfully so.

"It's vitally important for New Zealand's reputation and image that the high standard of air safety is maintained ..."