12 Jul 2010

NZ pilot lands plane in Darwin after engines fail

10:53 pm on 12 July 2010

A Christchurch woman pilot is being hailed a hero in Australia for safely landing a plane carrying five tourists after its engines cut out on approaching Darwin Airport.

Nikola Labes, 29, was forced to land on a beach just south of Darwin on Sunday.

She was piloting a Cessna which had just completed a charter flight over the Kakadu National Park in the Northern Territory.

Ms Labes' manager told a local newspaper she was a hero for keeping a cool head in the emergency.

The New Zealander does not want to be interviewed.