'Carnage’ feared at test, court told

Press, 13 November 1981, Page 19

'Carnage’ feared at test, court told

PA Auckland The officer in charge of the police at Auckland during the third All BlacksSpringbok rugby test said yesterday that 416 had been sure the aircraft that “buzzed” Eden Park would have tried to land. In doing so, he said, it would have caused “carnage.” Chief Superintendent E. Perry was giving evidence in a depositions hearing in the District Court at Auckland in which a youth and man face charges ' of assault and breaches of the Civil Aviation Regulations. Grant Albert Cole, aged 19, a freight operator, of Westmere, and Marx Jones, aged 32, a truck driver, of Herne Bay, each face eight charges of assault. They also face a charge of flying an aircraft in a manner so as to cause unnecessary danger to people or property, and they face a count of committing a criminal' nuisance by dropping diverse articles from an aircraft in flight which they knew would endanger the safety of the public. Jones faces two further charges: one of flying an aircraft over a populous area, Eden Park, at such an

ing" the ground. altitude as would not enable the aircraft to complete a safe landing should engine failure or other cause necessitate a forced landing; and one of wilfully permitting articles to be dropped from an aircraft in flight in a manner that created a hazard to persons below. Both men conducted their own case, assisted by Mr Richard Cuthbert and Ms Rosemary Hollins. Mr Perry said that on September 12 he had spoken by radio to an occupant of an aircraft which was flying over Eden Park. The person continually threatened to make a forced landing on the pitch if the test was not stopped.

The occupant had said, “I will give you something to think about. We have possession of barbs and fish hooks, and we will use these if the game is not stopped.” Mr Perry said that towards the end of the match the person had demanded that the field be cleared, because he was going to make a forced landing. Cross-examined by Jones, Mr Perry said he had made the decision not to stop the match. He had been sure the aircraft would try to land on Eden Park and that would have caused “carnage.” But he said the evacuation of Eden Park would have resulted in panic, terror, and rioting in relation to the' protesters who were “besieg-