Bent Cessna Draws Attention In New Zealand

New Zealand's Civil Aviation Authority has figured out the cause of a major episode of deja vu.

Rescuers responded this week after a helicopter pilot looked down and saw a Cessna on the ground, which he described as being "...pretty smashed up." When they got there, it looked eerily similar to a wreck they found last week.

Turns out, there's a reason.

New Zealand's Rotorua Daily Post reports that in the first accident, on August 26, the pilot was hailed as a hero for his emergency landing in a paddock in Ngakuru. The plane tore through a fence after engine trouble during a sightseeing flight, damaging its nose, but the pilot and six Spanish tourists were uninjured.

A helicopter was called to move the plane to Hamilton for further investigation by the CAA, but that helo reportedly experienced hydraulic problems and had to leave the wreck at the foot of Horohoro Bluff.

Yep, you guessed it. The pilot of the helicopter who called in the report this week had spotted the same wreck in its new spot.

The deja vu question has been solved, but one other remains... is it this tough for a Kiwi to get proper aircraft maintenance?

FMI: www.caa.govt.nz/