Wednesday 28 October 2026Wed 28 Oct
headline.nz

Pilot escapes injury after emergency landing on Bay of Plenty beach

NZ Herald1NewsWednesday 28 October 2026 · 2 outlets · 2 reports · updated
Photo: NZ Herald (opens in new tab)

A 72-year-old pilot, Evan Wheeler, was forced to make an emergency landing on a remote beach after his propeller broke mid-flight. The incident occurred near Mount Maunganui while he was flying a two-seater bush plane back from Ōpōtiki. Mr Wheeler escaped the landing without injury.

How they headlined it

First reported by NZ Herald, Wed 28 Oct, 8:25am · 2 reports from 2 outlets over 4 hours
  1. NZ HeraldNZ Herald

    Matakana Island emergency landing: Pilot escapes injury after propeller breaks mid-flight (opens in new tab)

  2. 1News1News

    Propeller snaps mid-flight, pilot has a minute to land on BoP beach (opens in new tab)