Inquiries & Recommendations

Ngā ketuketutanga me ngā tūtohunga

On 2 November 2013 a British Aerospace Jetstream 32 aeroplane taking off from Auckland Airport started to veer left from the runway centreline. The captain was initially able to correct the heading change, but at about 90 knots the turn became uncontrollable. The aeroplane slowly ran off the left side of the runway before the captain could bring it to a stop. No-one was injured and there was no damage to the aeroplane or any airport infrastructure.

12 tourists were flown in two AS350 Squirrel helicopters from Queenstown to a snowfield near Mount Tyndall. One of the helicopters collided with a parked helicopter while landing. All on board were injured, the pilot seriously. The Commission was unable to exclude the possibilities that the pilot misjudged the approach. There was no evidence to suggest that the pilot had a medical condition that contributed to the accident, but that possibility could not be excluded.

At 0957 on 7 October 2013, a Royal New Zealand Air Force Boeing 757 departed Christchurch for Pegasus Field aerodrome in Antarctica. There were 117 passengers and 13 crew on board. The passengers included a New Zealand Government Minister, staff from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and staff from Antarctica New Zealand and the United States Antarctic Program.

On Monday 9 September 2013 at 1336, the NZ Transport Agency notified the Transport Accident Investigation Commission (Commission) of the incident under section 13(4) of the Railways Act 2005. The Commission opened an inquiry under section 13(1) of the Transport Accident Investigation Commission Act 1990, to determine the circumstances and causes of the incident, and appointed an investigator-in-charge.

On Tuesday 3 September 2013 an express freight train operated by KiwiRail was travelling from Tauranga to Auckland. The train consisted of a single locomotive hauling 36 wagons, 14 of which were conveying hazardous goods. At about 0300, as the train was approaching Mercer, a wheel-bearing on the 20th wagon behind the locomotive failed, resulting in that wagon derailing and tipping onto the adjacent southbound track. The following two wagons also derailed, one of them spilling its container and contents onto the adjacent State Highway One Expressway.

On 30 August 2013 a Boeing 737-300 aeroplane operated by Air New Zealand was on a scheduled service between Wellington and Auckland. After the aeroplane began its descent to Auckland, it lost cabin pressure. The pilots commenced the relevant emergency procedures and made a normal landing at Auckland Airport. No-one was injured and the aeroplane was not damaged.

On 8 August 2013 the IDAS Bulker was departing Napier with a full cargo of logs. The vessel was initially under the control of a Napier pilot, who relinquished control of the vessel to the master approximately abeam South Pania Buoy (while still in the pilotage area) and departed the vessel. The master of the IDAS Bulker was concerned that the course that the pilot had advised him to steer would bring the IDAS Bulker too close to another vessel that was inbound to the Napier pilot station.

On 11 July 2013, the bulk log carrier Taokas Wisdom was loading a cargo of logs at the Port of Nelson, New Zealand when fire broke out in one of the crew member's cabins. The fire was detected by the automatic fire detection system, which activated the ship's general alarm. While the crew were responding to the fire alarm, the Port Nelson security officer saw smoke emitting from the ship and notified the Nelson Fire Service.

On the afternoon of 10 June 2013, KiwiRail's Tranz Alpine passenger train was travelling from Greymouth to Christchurch. The train departed from the Otira station on time, heading for the western portal of the Otira Tunnel. At about the same time, signals technicians had finished work on testing the tunnel door and ventilation systems at the western portal of the tunnel.

At 0730 on Monday 10 June 2013, the KiwiRail Scenic-operated passenger train the Capital Connection was en route from Palmerston North to Wellington and had stopped at Waikanae Station to exchange passengers. The train was fitted with a mobility hoist in the rear-most luggage van for boarding and alighting passengers in wheelchairs.

On 7 June 2013 a Boeing 737-838 operated by Jetconnect Limited was undergoing scheduled maintenance at Auckland International Airport. During an inspection of the forward electronics and equipment compartment area under the flight deck, metal filings were found next to the stabiliser trim cable drum. On closer inspection a rag was found trapped under the stabiliser trim cable windings on the forward cable drum.

On Monday 20 May 2013, Train 8219 was the scheduled Tranz Metro passenger train travelling from Porirua to Wellington. The train was an electric multiple unit consisting of four passenger coaches. At 0743 the rear coach of the train derailed as it was entering Wellington Station limits. Four of the 315 passengers on board the train received minor injuries. The derailed coach remained upright but sustained extensive damage to machinery underneath the coach floor. An air compressor was forced up through the coach floor into the passenger compartment.