Late-night flights rile Dunedin residents

A flying instructor has apologised to Dunedin residents after being "bombarded" with complaints over a late-night training flight.

A plane, from Mainland Aviation College, circled the central city for three hours from 11pm on Monday, the Otago Daily Times reported.

Flying instructor John Penno said several people had contacted the company to express their views on the late-night flight.

"One guy just rang and made airplane noises down the telephone for three minutes," he said.

Mr Penno said the college had a rule that students should not fly over the city after 10pm but some students had broken the rule while he was on leave.

"I'm quite upset about it, but I have to take responsibility for it," he said.

"Basically, it was my stuff-up. I do apologise for that and for any convenience it has caused."

Planes are legally allowed to fly over built-up areas as low as 1000ft, but Mainland students were instructed not to fly lower than 2500ft-3000ft.

Mr Penno said he did not believe they would have been flying lower.

"No way. They would be grounded if they did that," he said.

On a calm night, the plane could sound a lot closer than it was.

Civil Aviation Authority communications adviser Emma Peel said It was "highly unlikely" the plane was flying under the legal height and the authority would only deal with complaints about aircraft noise if a plane was flying too low.

- NZPA