Air NZ examines washed-up part

A piece of plane found washed up on a beach in the Manukau Heads yesterday may be a missing part of the section of wing that broke off an Air New Zealand jet a fortnight ago.

The airline has taken the piece away for inspection after a woman found it on a beach yesterday.

Air New Zealand last night said it was too early to know if it was part of the 2m section that broke off and plunged into the Manukau Harbour after causing minor damage to the plane's fuselage and tail.

However, spokeswoman Rosie Paul said it was likely the piece found near Clark's Beach was the same one.

It will be checked by engineers today.

Rosie Paul said the airline had attempted to search for the piece but had problems with the tide.

The airline is also investigating why an insecure 10kg panel that fell into a Manukau carpark last month was fixed by four screws instead of the required 125.

* One of the Air Force's increasingly unreliable VIP Boeing 727 aircraft was delayed five times by technical faults on a recent mission and faced air space restrictions over Europe because of its obsolete navigation and communications systems, Air Force News has reported. Problems included a major fuel leak, engine problems and a navigation system failure.

One of the Air Force's increasingly unreliable VIP aircraft was delayed five times by technical faults on a recent mission and faced air space restrictions over Europe because of its obsolete navigation and communications systems.

The Boeing 727 transport aircraft left Whenuapai on July 3 - 10 days late and carrying an extra crew to avoid overnight stops, Air Force News reports.

Crew member Flight Lieutenant Mike Corkill said setbacks dogged the 727 on its mission to England, Bosnia and the Sinai, where it delivered weapons to New Zealand peacekeepers.

A major fuel leak in San Francisco - delay, two days - preceeded the 727's flight to the Royal Air Force Kinloss base in England and delivery of No 5 (Orion) Squadron backup and support staff for an exercise.

Next, an engine fault - two days lost at Kinloss - held up a high-ranking officer's flight from Bosnia to England aboard the 727 ... but only after a stop in Lyon, France, to realign its navigation systems for strict Eurocontrol airspace.



On the return, a realignment was missed when an engine fault delayed the 727 in Lyon. That was fixed, but the 727 navigation system failed in Cyprus. Weapons delivered to Sinai, it was back to Kinloss to collect No 5 squadron equipment. Another engine fault - delay, two days - then home.

- NZPA