Witness feared plane would hit trees

A witness was afraid a Pacific Blue aircraft was going to clip trees as it left Queenstown in fading light and a storm gathered, Queenstown District Court heard today.

A 54-year-old pilot, of Papakura, appeared for the fourth day of a defended hearing before Judge Kevin Phillips.

The pilot, who has interim name suppression, has denied operating a Boeing 737 in a careless manner on June 22, 2010, a charge laid by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).

The authority alleges the pilot should not have taken off for Sydney after 5.14pm because Pacific Blue rules stipulated departing aircraft at Queenstown needed at least 30 minutes before civil twilight at 5.45pm.

The aircraft departed at 5.25pm.

Witness Alan Kirker, who watched the takeoff over the Frankton Arm, told the court he saw an unusually low aircraft in level flight.

The skipper, whose vessel was on a list of standby rescue boats, said his first thought was how quickly he could leave his home to launch on Lake Wakatipu.

"It got to the Kelvin peninsula, banked very heavily, maybe a 45-degree bank,'' he said.

"I was afraid it was going to clip the trees.

"I was watching a front coming ... It banked heavily around the golf course. I could still see it again as it got around the base of Deer Park [Heights]. I could only see the lights. It was in the whiteout."

Kirker said an incoming southerly front brought "a blizzard; the snow hit my house probably a couple of minutes after".

Adelaide-based freelance cameraman Simon Christie was on the aircraft when it took off and said takeoff was bumpy.

Christie, speaking via a Skype videolink, said he was holding a camera but put it down during takeoff after being told over a tannoy "we are going to give it a go".

"It was bumpy, 30 seconds to a minute, then we seemed to drop; not a big drop,'' he said.

"I could see houses clearly because we were heading to a large lake.

"Maybe we weren't going to make it too far. It seemed to be a steep climb for a few minutes. Once we broke through the clouds everything was fine."

The defence says the pilot's actions were correct, Pacific Blue's policies were inconsistent and any breach of requirements, if demonstrated, fell short of carelessness.

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