Engine failure but sky diver back for more

Cameraman Mohammad Al-Tahan (left) and tandem instructor Tim Denson (right) about to take Peter Huhndorf for his second jump of the day. Photo / APN

A backpacker wrapping up a working holiday in New Zealand with a parachute jump got more excitement than he bargained for when the plane's engine failed over the Bay of Islands - and then he went back for more.

Reports of a suspected plane crash sparked a major emergency alert about 10.30am yesterday, with police, ambulances and five fire engines searching the orchards around Kerikeri Rd.

Among those to raise the alarm was Tony Cox of Blue Gum Lane.

"I saw it stop in mid air, over the gum trees, then heard a big bang ... I thought it had landed in the orchard."

But the plumes of smoke near Kerikeri airport turned out to be only burn-offs - the Skydive Zone Cessna had landed safely after gliding almost 15km without power.

Three occupants - German backpacker Peter Huhndorf, tandem skydiving instructor Greg Smith and cameraman Tim Denson - made an unscheduled jump over Kerikeri's new sports complex, leaving pilot Jon-Claude Welson to make a forced landing on his own.

Mr Welson, 25, said he was flying at 3350m over the Bay of Islands - customers get a scenic flight before skydiving over Kerikeri airport - when he noticed something wrong.

He turned back and was over the Black Rocks when the engine stopped and the cabin filled with smoke.

They were gliding back towards Kerikeri when the instructor saw the fields at the new sports complex were empty, and decided to jump.

The Cessna was now three people lighter, but by the time Mr Welson was above Kerikeri township he was unsure whether he had enough height to make the airport.

"So I tried to start the engine again, but it was really rough."

He managed to get over the last row of gum trees for a textbook forced landing on grass near the airport buildings.

"It was a cool, smooth landing," he said, but admitted his heart was still racing.

Chris Kennedy, who lives near the top of Kerikeri Rd, was one of the first to raise the alarm as the Cessna struggled overhead.

"I could tell he was in trouble. His engine was spluttering and he was really low, maybe less than 60m. I thought he was going to crash."

Mr Huhndorf's skydive went without a hitch and two hours later he was back for more - the firm offered him a chance to jump again, but from nearly 5000m as he'd booked.

The 19-year-old said a back problem ruled out bungy jumping, so he decided to end his nine-month working holiday with a skydive.

"I didn't hear anything unusual, but there was smoke coming through the cabin so I asked the instructor if there was a problem - it was my first jump so I didn't know. It was a bit scary but my instructor said, 'That's what we've got parachutes for'."

Mr Huhndorf was not fazed at going up again two hours later. "It's a different plane, and it can't happen twice in one day."

Skydive Zone owner Gavin Horrell said the aircraft, a 1966 Cessna 206, had been rebuilt and had its engine replaced in Whangarei at a cost of $250,000 two weeks ago.

The pilot had three years' commercial flying experience and had been with Skydive Zone for the past year.

The company flew every day the weather was good and had done close to 1000 jumps this year without incident.

Engineers from Northland Aviation arrived in Kerikeri about 12.30pm to start examining the engine.

The Civil Aviation Authority is investigating.

- APN