7.30 am
Aerial spraying to kill the painted apple moth in West Auckland has been delayed again, this time by an engine problem on the aircraft.
The twin-engined BK-117 helicopter made an emergency landing in Archibald Park in Kelston just after 7 this morning. The pilot and navigator were unhurt, and the
cause of the problem is being investigated.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry says it hopes to resume spraying to kill the Australian pest tomorrow.
Mary-Ann Crawford of MAF said the helicopter had just sprayed the southern tip of Avondale, which remained unsprayed after yesterday's operations, and was flying over Kelston when engine trouble forced the machine down.
"CAA (the Civil Aviation Authority) insisted that we have a twin-engined helicopter - and it was hard to find one - but this morning we were glad we had."
Ms Crawford says she is "gutted" by the latest hitch in the spraying to kill the moth caterpillars.
Spraying was to have started on the weekend, but poor weather on Saturday and Sunday made that impossible.
On Monday, blocked filters in the spraying equipment brought spraying to a halt after only Traherne Island had been covered.
Yesterday, the helicopter had flown over most of Avondale before rising winds again made spraying impossible.
Any wind stronger than 12 km/h can cause the Btk spray to drift outside the designated 560ha spray zone which includes 3000 residential and industrial properties.
Still to be sprayed are the suburbs of Kelston, Glendene and Te Atatu South.
nzherald.co.nz/environment
