Northland news in brief: Whangārei Airport, Film Society, court, police and Lotto

An Air NZ flight into Whangārei airport yesterday sparked an emergency response, but the plane landed safely.

Fire crew on standby at airport

A Whangārei fire crew were placed on standby yesterday morning after concerns were raised about a plane due to land at Whangārei Airport. Airport manager Mike Chubb said some passengers on an Air NZ flight bound for Whangārei reported smelling something burning, but there was no smoke visible. The airport was alerted and the fire crew were put on standby just before 9.30am. Chubb said the 50-seater plane landed safely and the fire crew were not needed. He said the plane had been grounded while investigations were carried out.

Film Society screenings

The Whangārei Film Society has a range of diverse movies screening this month. The movies are showing at Forum North, and cost $10 for members, door sales only. Trailers and information, including screening times, can be found at www.whangareifilmsociety.org.

Second court appearance

A 43-year-old Whangārei man will reappear in the Whangārei District Court today after being caught driving while allegedly more than four times over the drink-driving limit on Friday. The man, who had a zero alcohol licence was caught driving on Riverside Drive about 10.30am on Friday with a breath alcohol reading of 1015 micrograms. The limit is 250 micrograms. The man appeared in Whangārei District Court on Saturday and was remanded in custody to appear today.

Wanted man arrested

Whangārei Police have arrested a 40-year-old Whangārei man, who had a warrant to arrest, and had been wanted in the Whāngarei area for more than a week. He was wanted in relation to dishonesty matters. The man was arrested at about 7.45am on Saturday without incident after a search warrant was carried out in Onerahi. He will appear in Whangārei District Court on September 13.

Lotto winners

Two Lotto players from Motueka and Hamilton each won $500,000 with Lotto First Division on Saturday. Powerball was not struck and will be worth $7 million on Wednesday. The winning Lotto numbers were 18, 20, 22, 24, 29 and 35, and the bonus number 17. The winning Powerball was number 02. The winning Strike numbers were 29, 22, 35 and 18.