KEY POINTS:
English pop group the Pet Shop Boys were among the people 40 seconds away from being potentially pulverised in a mid-air collision while flying to Auckland for their first-ever New Zealand gig this week.
The band - Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe - and their entire touring party were aboard the Lan Chile Airbus flight that arrived in Auckland on Wednesday morning.
Just as the plane entered New Zealand airspace - about 10pm Tuesday - the pilot saw flaming fragments entering the atmosphere about 10km in front of and behind the Airbus.
Given its speed, the aircraft was about 40 seconds from a collision.
EMI confirmed the Pet Shop Boys were on the flight as they had just completed a tour of South America.
The band played their first New Zealand show at the St James in Auckland on Thursday night.
According to the band's website, the entire touring party was asleep and completely oblivious to the drama.
The incident is being investigated. It was initially thought the fragments were from a Russian satellite that was scheduled to re-enter the Earth's atmosphere about 12 hours after the near-miss. But Nasa rejected this, saying the satellite plunged to Earth at the correct time.
