Plane part crashes through house roof

A small mechanical part likely to have been from a light plane smashed through the roof of a house near Hastings yesterday, landing on the lounge floor.

Senior Sergeant Ross Smith said a resident was at home at the time but in another room when the incident happened.

"It looks like it's probably a brake lining or brake shoe from a small plane that had left Napier Airport and was flying towards Wellington," he said.

The resident of the small Whakatu settlement phoned police, who passed details of the incident on to airport authorities.

Mr Smith said details were quickly passed on to the pilot of a plane who had earlier flown the flight path in question.

He said the pilot diverted to Palmerston North to get the plane mechanically checked.

- NZPA