An international flying student did an "exceptional job" landing unhurt with a dead engine and missing a wheel after a fatal mid-air collision.

The student pilot who died after a mid-air collision with another plane in Feilding yesterday has been named.

Pacific Blue says the pilots of a plane that may have breached flight rules when taking off from Queenstown airport have been stood down.

The student pilot killed in yesterday's flight school crash was in her 60s and from the Kapiti Coast area, police said this morning.

Annual visitor arrivals to New Zealand hit the 2.5 million mark last month for the first time, says Statistics NZ. But immigration numbers have been unexpectedly weak.

Boeing and Airbus have racked up billions of dollars worth of aircraft sales at the Farnborough Airshow.

New technology at Auckland Airport means the CEO of Customs gets automatic texts if queues are too long.

NZ pilot Nikola Labes fought off a passenger as she made a miraculous crash landing on an Australian beach.

Auckland Airport has delayed construction of its new runway for a second time, a move it says will save the company $12m.

Air NZ is denying Australian reports that it poised to buy a stake in rival Virgin Blue.

The flying instructor badly injured in Monday's plane crash near Palmerston North has shown promising signs of recovery.

Budget airline Jetstar says new Australia - Queenstown flights will begin in December.