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'You have a process': Pilot recounts emergency landing after propeller snapped

Author
Newstalk ZB,
Publish Date
Wed, 28 Oct 2026, 4:29pm
The Podcast on iHeartRadio
Veteran pilot Evan Wheeler made a desperate dash for a safe landing.

A veteran pilot managed to escape uninjured after part of his propeller snapped off mid-flight.

Evan Wheeler was flying his two-seater Murphy Rebel bush plane back to Whitianga after a barbecue over the weekend, when he suddenly noticed something was wrong.

Wheeler said he thought he'd blown a piston or dropped a valve, but it turned out to be something else.

"The engine almost stopped, I pulled it back up again and I knew the engine was okay, so then you just sort of get into the mode of - where am I going to land?"

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