Tourists leap from plane before it plunges into lake
Tourists on a skydiving trip in New Zealand were forced to parachute from a plane minutes before it crashed into a lake.
Police said the six passengers plus the six crew members and the pilot all landed safely near Lake Taupo, a popular holiday spot, without significant injuries.
Roy Clements, boss of the plane operator Skydive Taupo, said the passengers were overseas tourists who had been due to dive in tandem with instructors, some at 12,000 feet and others at 15,000.
However, at 2,000 feet the plane’s engines cut out and the pilot told them all to leap. The instructors, who were already wearing parachutes, clipped themselves to their passengers and leapt from the plane.
Air accident investigators are on their way to the crash site to find out what went wrong with the aircraft, which apparently made a loud bang before the engines cut out.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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