A group of 30 paraglider pilots who sparked a callout for police and the harbourmaster in Queenstown on Tuesday evening will not face charges.
The paragliders from the Southern Hang Gliding and Paragliding Club were planning to fly from Cecil Peak across Lake Wakatipu to land at the usual paraglider landing spot at the Queenstown Recreation Ground near the primary school in the middle of the town.
But strong winds caught out many of the pilots as they were midway across the lake, so they had to aim for a landing on the shores of Lake Wakatipu near the Fernhill roundabout at the outskirts of the town centre.
At least five of the paragliders landed in the water, close to the shore.
Several members of the public were concerned to see the paragliders flying low over the water, and alerted police at 8.10pm.
Three police officers were at the scene along with harbourmaster Marty Black.
While police were checking through a list of names to make sure every pilot was safe and accounted for, one of the pilots, who declined to be named, told the Otago Daily Times the pilots had arranged for boats to be on the water to help out in a case of emergency.
He did not see the situation as a drama, and said the group had done the same flight several times before without problems.
The harbourmaster was more concerned about their safety, and pointed out most of the paraglider pilots were not wearing life jackets.
"Fortunately, none of them got hurt.
"But with wind conditions like we had Tuesday evening, it could have gone worse.
"It's all very well that they had a couple of boats arranged.
"But what if they had all landed in the water?" Mr Black asked.
Yesterday, Acting Sergeant Dan Andrew said police had made sure everyone involved was uninjured.
"A bit more communication from the group ahead of the event would have been good," he said.
"At this stage we do not expect to lay any charges, but we will be liaising with Marty Black," Acting Sgt Andrew said.
Mr Black said he would not take the matter further.
