In brief

Landing gear issues

A plane made an unscheduled landing at the air force base in Ohakea after issues were reported with its landing gears. A police spokeswoman said the Boeing plane was scheduled to land about 9.10am on Monday. Police were called after it was reported there were problems with its landing gear. . A spokesman for the New Zealand Defence Force said the Royal New Zealand Air Force Boeing 757 aircraft diverted to Ohakea and made a precautionary landing after a warning light came on during flight. ’’No emergency was declared and the aircraft, with sixteen people on board, landed without incident. Maintenance personnel were investigating the problem.

Soldier investigated

A soldier participating in Exercise Rim of the Pacific was investigated by military police for his conduct while in transit to the exercise. Exercise RIMPAC is the largest maritime exercise in the world, involving 22 countries, 25,000 personnel, 42 ships, six submarines, and more than 200 aircraft. About 350 New Zealand Defence Force personnel took part. A spokesman at the New Zealand Defence Force said military police had investigated an allegation in relation to a soldier’s conduct while in transit to the exercise. ’’The investigation has now concluded and there is no evidence to pursue any charges. The matter is now closed.’’

Grill the candidates

George St is putting on a lunchtime opportunity for people to hear from candidates for the Palmerston North City Council. The session will be run by Damian Thorne and Jennifer Moss. People can post written questions in the big red box near the library. They will be drawn out and posed to the candidates on the day, without an opportunity to prepare their responses. The George St session begins at 12.30pm on September 3.

Water check urged

Feilding residents are being asked to check their water before use, after a burst water main led to emergency flushing of the water system in the town. Manawatu District Council spokesman Paul Stein said a water main in the town burst on Monday morning dislodged some of the material that was on the inside of the town’s pipes. The council decided to flush the material out of the pipes, but the material and flushing water had to get out somewhere. Water could come out discoloured at houses, so people were advised to check their water before doing any washing.