Baby lost toe aboard plane

WELLINGTON, New Zealand, Feb. 2 (UPI) -- New Zealand aviation authorities say the list of "serious or critical events" aboard aircraft in 2011 included the accidental amputation of a baby's toe.

The tip of the toe was sliced off as the child's parents attempted to stow an onboard entertainment screen. It was one of 2,000 incidents reported to New Zealand's Civil Aviation Authority, the Dominion Post newspaper said Thursday. Although the agency did not identify the airline, Air New Zealand confirmed the incident occurred on one of its flights.

More than half the events reported involved impacts or near-misses with birds, the records show.

There were three onboard deaths, 15 incidents of people smoking and 20 cases of drunk, drugged or unruly passengers. One woman was hospitalized after duty-free liquor bottles fell from an overhead storage bin, striking her on the head, and another passenger was allowed to travel with two replica machine guns that had not been detected before he boarded a plane.

Irene King, chief executive of the Aviation Industry Association, pointed out regular reporting of incidents, no matter the severity, was important in helping airlines highlight areas of service and safety that required improvement.