Tributes paid to 'Captain Annie'

Friends and family of pilot Ann Barbarich yesterday remembered a kind, loving mother and dedicated flyer. Photo / Dean Purcell

A guard of honour of Air New Zealand flight crew and a flyover by Warbirds in the "missing man" formation ended the funeral in Auckland yesterday of pilot Ann Barbarich.

She died after suffering a suspected brain aneurysm at the controls of a plane landing in Perth.

Captain Barbarich, a pilot for 27 years and one of the first women to fly for Air New Zealand, had just guided the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner on to the tarmac with 233 passengers on board when the medical incident occurred.

One of three other pilots in the cockpit took control, taxiing the plane to the gate, while the others went to her aid.

At the funeral service attended by several hundred friends and colleagues at the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Parnell, Auckland, her husband, Michael Bacher, said "Captain Annie" had an exceptional life and was the kindest, most loving partner, and a loving dedicated mother to their two children.

Daughter Bianca Barbarich-Bacher said she went on a 747 flight to San Francisco with her mother.

"I loved seeing mum in her element, the flying Queen of the Skies."

Her 13-year-old son, Alex, recalled a visit to the Gold Coast where they went on all the adventure park rides and "not once did mum chicken out".

Colleagues referred to her passion for skydiving, gliding and flying helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft, particularly the Boeing 747.

She had put in the effort and met the challenge of flying the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft, said Air New Zealand chief pilot Captain Dave Morgan.

On a training flight to Sydney, she had been faced with a shorter runway than would be expected for landing the plane on but "she absolutely nailed it - a perfect landing".

Captain Morgan also said that as first officer on a Fokker Friendship flight in 1989, Ann Barbarich had saved a life.

She dashed from the cockpit just before takeoff to successfully perform CPR on a 15-month-old child who was convulsing and had turned blue.

She was commended by the National Heart Foundation for her actions.

A colleague, Captain Brad Bason, said her competence was shown when she was at the controls of an Eagle Air Bandeirante on a regional flight.

A flock of seagulls went through the twin turbo prop engines, one engine failed and the other lost power but she was able to land safely - averting a major disaster.

She also marked her aviation milestones in style; in the early 1980s, while flying an aircraft carrying skydivers, she flew her 500th hour and then handed over the controls to another pilot and jumped out to make her 500th parachute jump.