One of the big favorite gifts in New Zealand this year was the flying helium filled, and remote controlled shark . $99 and available at the Warehouse, they looked like good fun and were gone by the time we wanted to buy one.

Now one of them has been spotted by a pilot flying into Christchurch International Airport - cruising at an altitude of several thousand feet above the ground.

The pilot reported it on Boxing Day as a  passenger jet was descending and was about 9 kilometres from the airport on Boxing Day. The pilot radioed ground control about his surprise at this when the pilot radioed unlikely sighting,

Designed for indoor use, the $99 1.44-metre-long Air Swimmer can be operated by remote control over a range of 15m.

New Zealand Air Line Pilots' Association president Glen Kenny said the biggest risk the shark posed was startling the pilot.