Today’s New Zealand Herald newspaper reports that the Lan Chile Airbus A340 flying from Santiago, Chile, to Auckland, New Zealand, on Tuesday night came close to being hit “by blazing pieces of a Russian satellite hurtling into New Zealand airspace. The disintegrating satellite was so close to the aircraft that the pilot could hear the roar it made as it broke the sound barrier.…At the aircraft’s cruising speed of 880km/h it was within about 40 seconds of a potential catastrophe.”
On board the plane, asleep and unaware of this drama, were Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe and the entire Pet Shop Boys touring party. Lan Chile flight 801 left Santiago late on Monday evening and, crossing the International Date Line, arrived safely at Auckland at 4 am on Wednesday morning.
Pet Shop Boys perform their debut New Zealand concert tonight at the St James Theatre, Auckland.
PSB plane “40 seconds from air disaster”
He’s 66 today. Happy Birthday, Chris!
Photo: Tate Modern
Recent News
Pet Shop Boys are happy to announce their first “Dreamworld” UK headline show for the coming year at Lytham Festival on Saturday, July 4 2026.
Soundtrack composer Bryce Miller has created a stunning new mix of “It’s a sin” for the trailer of “Monster: The Ed Gein Story”.
To mark the centenary of Sergei Eisenstein’s legendary silent film, “Battleship Potemkin”, a restored version made by Deutsche Kinemathek, featuring the celebrated score by Tennant and Lowe of Pet Shop Boys, will be released for the first time in cinemas and on a two-disc Blu-ray and CD package by the BFI.
Pet Shop Boys are happy to reveal a special signed and numbered seven-inch vinyl of “Hymn (In memoriam Alexei Navalny)”, which is released today.
New PSB merchandise, including a “Dreamworld” T‑shirt and bum bag, as well as a “Nonetheless” fan made from bamboo and fabric, is now available in the official Pet Shop Boys store.
Pet Shop Boys have arrived in Spain and are looking forward to their first summer show at Icónica Santalucía Festival in Seville today!