By Chris Daniels
Officials have closed a private airfield near Mercer a month after a plane crashed the first time it was used.
Neighbours had warned safety officials the runway was dangerously close to a hill, but neither the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) nor the council would do anything.
Building a private airfield is a "permitted activity" in the Franklin area, and the authority has no safety standards that must be met for such an airstrip.
Neighbour Matthew Dean said that on top of the dangers - a steep hill is at one end of the runway - the airstrip meant extra noise and a drop in property values.
On January 16, before the airstrip was completed, owner Russell Ward and two others took off in a 1950s Auster Autocrat plane.
A witness saw the plane struggling to gain height after lifting off, then heading towards the hill.
The aircraft crashed only a small way up the slope, on Mr Dean's land.
The pilot and passengers are recovering from broken bones and head injuries.
That accident prompted the Franklin District Council to invoke special powers under the Resource Management Act to shut the airfield.
Kevin Bird and his family live just a few hundred metres from the crash site, further up the hill.
His two children, aged 9 and 11, saw the plane crash.
Mr Bird said he was overjoyed that the airfield was being shut, as he was afraid for his family's safety.
Council chief executive Stephen Town said the abatement notice issued to Mr Ward this week meant he was prohibited from taking off or landing planes on the airstrip until further notice.
The resource law allowed the council to "act for safety reasons."
"In this case it does not appear that any other authority, such as the CAA, has any jurisdiction over the airstrip, so it's our job.
"We are obviously interested to know the result of the crash investigation, but that could be months away."
The council has told Mr Ward he might be allowed to use the runway if he can present a certificate from an approved aviation engineer saying it is safe Mr Ward did not respond to requests from the Herald for an interview.
But Mr Bird said: "We're rapt. He shouldn't have been taking off on an unformed airstrip, and it is not safe on an ongoing basis."
CAA spokeswoman Emma Peel said the authority had to be notified if there were seven more flights from a private airfield in any 30-day period.
She said it was unlikely the airstrip would be inspected.
It was assumed that those who built an airstrip for personal use would make it suitable for their aircraft to fly from, said Emma Peel.
"Operating manuals for aircraft give accurate instructions about how much length or clear space they needed to take off safely."
Crash spurs closure of a 'dangerous' airfield
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