When an ill wind blows
A biplane nosedived into a Napier runway yesterday after being caught by a gust of wind.
Emergency services were called to the plane crash at Hawke’s Bay Airport at midday.
Two people were in the blue-and-yellow biplane, a Boeing Stearman, at the time and suffered minor injuries.
Mike Gannaway witnessed the crash, and said the pilot seemed to have it under control until a gust of wind hit.
‘‘He tried to correct it and couldn’t,’’ Gannaway said. ‘‘Everyone couldn’t believe it . . . it was so surprising.’’
Gannaway said there were about 100 people who saw the incident as it was part of the Art Deco Festival in Napier.
Three fire trucks were sent to the scene and paramedics were called to help the people on board but they were not taken to hospital.
Boeing Stearman were formerly used as a military trainer aircraft and were built around the 1930s.
The biplane was used as a training aircraft for the United States Army Air Forces, the United States Navy and the Royal Canadian Air Force during World War II. They were later sold to the public and are now used in air shows and as cropdusters.
Furs, fedoras and flappers abounded in Napier for the city’s annual celebration of all things art deco.
The 32nd iteration of Napier’s Art Deco Festival, running from Wednesday to yesterday, attracted about 20,000 people from around the country and the world.
A non-stop lineup of events, concerts, and dining opportunities with titles like ‘‘Depression Dinner’’, ‘‘Bootleggers on the Beach’’ and ‘‘Prohibition Pop-up’’, the 2020 event may go down as being the most raucous on record, with police making numerous arrests on Saturday night.
At least 10 youths were arrested following a night of disorder. The youths were among a crowd of more than 100 gathered in the city centre late on Saturday night.
A police spokeswoman said police responded to a number of disorder events in the city overnight.
‘‘There were reports of various groups fighting among a large gathering of youths in the Marine Parade area, with continued reports of disorder as police dispersed the group,’’ she said.
‘‘There were further arrests across Napier overnight, with six taken into custody for disorderly behaviour and four for assault. No serious injuries were reported,’’ the spokeswoman said.
Apart from that, and a mishap involving an antique aircraft at Hawke’s
Bay Airport, things appeared to go swimmingly.
The town was abuzz with locals and visitors decked out in attire of the era, and antique cars were a dime a dozen.
The weather was largely kind, with a stunning sunset on Friday, a damp Saturday evening and a few late showers and a cool southerly appearing yesterday afternoon.
The first Art Deco Weekend, organised by the local Art Deco Trust, was held in 1989.
Napier was flattened in the Hawke’s Bay earthquake on February 3, 1931. Following the 7.8 quake, which killed 256 people, the city was rebuilt in the architectural style of the era, which is now celebrated with the annual festival near the time of the quake’s anniversary.