Agencies probe Massey Mid-East student pilots

Massey University's flight training school at Auckland and Palmerston North says security agencies have tried to check the background of Middle Eastern student pilots.

School of Aviation head Professor Graham Hunt said the school had trained pilots from 23 different countries over the past decade, including students from Middle Eastern countries.

But Professor Hunt said efforts to do "background checks" had run up against privacy laws.

"Privacy legislation prevents the school from handing out personal details of students."

He said would-be terrorists were unlikely to bother to train at Massey, because they would not want to wade through a masters degree in aviation just to get flight training that could be bought at a commercial flying school.

Massey University public affairs spokeswoman Louise Cameron confirmed that the school taught some Middle Eastern students.

"[But] those studying with Massey University all have NZ residency, for which any applicant over the age of 17 is required to submit to a police check."

She had no concerns about any of the students and was not aware of any Middle Eastern students leaving or graduating from the programme in the past 10 years.

Heather Woodward, a spokeswoman for the Massey flying school in Albany, Auckland, told the Herald last week that two Middle Eastern students - one from Egypt and one from Iraq - had enrolled for the bachelor of aviation, air transport pilot degree in 1999.

A third student, from Iran, enrolled for the same three-year degree course last year. All three students are said to be still at the school. Heather Woodward said police had not contacted the school about the students.

The police national crime manager, Detective Superintendent Bill Bishop, would not comment as the matter was a security issue.

A spokeswoman for Police Minister George Hawkins also declined to comment and referred the matter to Mr Bishop.

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