'Ditched' aircraft found in lock-up

A pilot who claimed his light plane had been lost after he had to ditch it at sea has been charged with fraud after it was found undamaged in a shipping container.

The tale of Howard Jamison's seemingly remarkable survival made headlines when he claimed to have ditched his privately owned Cessna in the sea 6km east of Timaru on July 29, 2004.

But Jamison, who claimed he ditched the plane after the engine failed and survived by surfing to shore, yesterday appeared in the Timaru District Court.

The Ashburton Guardian newspaper reported that Jamison, 46, was remanded on bail when he appeared in court.

He entered no plea to using a document, namely an Airclaims New Zealand accident claims form, with the intent to obtain a pecuniary advantage.

The alleged hoax was revealed when the plane was discovered in a shipping container at Wilson Bulk Transport in Ashburton.

Manager John Petrie would not confirm reports that the Cessna was found by workers cleaning up graffiti on the container, but said the container had been rented from his company on behalf of Jamison.

"We had no idea it [the plane] was in there," he said.

Mr Petrie said it was not company policy to ask customers the contents of containers that were rented as storage at its premises.

He would not say whether the plane was intact or in pieces, but said the container was a standard 40ft (12m) size.

Detective Dylan Murray, of Timaru criminal investigation bureau, told the newspaper that Jamison was arrested on Thursday after new information came to light.

Part of Jamison's bail conditions forbid him from associating with Wilson Bulk Transport's Mr Petrie, Ashburton store manager Jonathan Charles Ward, and prosecution witnesses.

In 2004, Jamison told reporters that the engine had died soon after he stopped to refuel at the airfield and he could not land on the beach.

He claimed to have turned the plane into the wind in preparation to ditch and used a false floor that was in the aircraft for skydivers to sit on to escape when it hit the water.

"I was able to push it [the floor] out of the plane and use it as a surfboard," he said. "As I was exiting the aircraft I was able to grab a life vest."

Jamison said he owed his life to the floor because the sea was rough that night.

"I'd hate to think what the outcome might have been if I'd had to swim to shore."

He claimed to have walked 500m and flagged down a passing motorist, and was reported to have suffered minor injuries, including a small cut to his forehead, for which he received treatment at Ashburton Hospital.

Because he owned the plane, it was his responsibility to search for the wreckage, which he claimed he could not find.

The Civil Aviation Authority was notified about the incident and prepared an accident brief based on information supplied by Rescue Co-ordination Centre NZ.

The brief said a successful ditching was carried out.

A CAA spokesman yesterday said that detailed investigations into crashes were only carried out when people were seriously injured or killed.

The authority was not involved in the current fraud investigation.