FLYING SHARK

A spokeswoman for Christchurch air traffic control, Monica Maron, said a pilot had reported the shark and its location about nine miles from the airport at 2pm on December 26.

“We advised subsequent traffic of its location, and the other pilots adjusted their routes.”

It was not yet known whether the sighting would be formally logged as an air-safety incident, she said.

The shark’s altitude and how close it came to the plane were unclear, Davis said.

The Civil Aviation Authority had also received several other reports from small single engine Cessna airplanes in the area.

“We couldn’t believe what we were seeing, the shark was up about 7,000 feet in the air – and it seemed to be flying.  We almost lost control of o ur plane, we were so shocked to see it,” said Todd Gimley of Christchurch Flying School.

“The engine probably wouldn’t stop, but it would do a great deal of damage,” he said.

A naval ship of the coast of New Zealand also spotted the flying shark.

There have been no other sightings of flying sharks outside of New Zealand.  Authorities and marine biologists are looking into the situation.  “This could be some rare mutation.  It is quite alarming,” said Cindy Loudon, a top Marine Biologist at the University of Sydney in Australia.