Sure to make you laugh
I'm surprised nobody's picked up on this, but to be honest it can't be taken seriously. As my flat mate said, must have been a slow news day.
"Screams as Team Plane Pulls Out of Landing"
Richard Trow
New Zealand Dominion Post 25/1/05
A group of junior softballers had the fright of their lives when their small Eagle Air aircraft aborted a landing at Wellington Airport.
The Wellington under-15 softball team - was returning home on Sunday after winning the North Island championships at Gisborne - about 6.20pm when the Beech 19-seater was forced into a steep climb to avoid an Air New Zealand Boeing 737 taxiing on the runway 500 feet (150 metres) below.
Team member Jordan Pepere, 13, said passengers did not see anything till the last minute. "Suddenly the plane pulled up and we all froze." The passengers "were screaming, hoping it wouldn't crash. We were in shock, thinking: 'What the heck is that plane doing there?'"
The pilot did a good job, he said.
Team coach Thomas Perenara said the aircraft "pulled out to the side and put its full engines on" before heading into a "very steep climb".
"The pilots seemed taken aback."
The landing gear was down and the aircraft was preparing to land when the incident took place, Mr Perenara said.
The Eagle aircraft circled above Island Bay before landing a short time later.
Eagle Air is a subsidiary of Air New Zealand.
Airways New Zealand spokesman Ken Mitchell said the procedure, called a go-around, looked "quite spectacular" but was "fairly routine" and within aviation guidelines.
"The winds were lighter than expected and it came in a little fast so the gap closed. The pilot erred on the side of caution."
Passengers were not in any danger, Mr Mitchell said.
An Air New Zealand spokesman said the small size of the plane would have made the swift ascent seem more dramatic than it was.