Balloon landings are a safety-critical phase of flight. If anyone or anything is ejected from basket during landing, an accident is virtually certain because balloon is uncontrolled, passengers unattended. To avoid this, all balloon pilots should wear safety harnesses. Owners/operators should install them. Also, passenger safety briefings must be clear, concise, easy for all passengers to follow.
Incident date: Publish date:On 9 July 2021, a Kavanagh Balloons E-260 carrying 10 passengers and a pilot on a scenic flight over the Wakatipu Basin made a hard landing after two aborted attempts. The impact ejected the pilot and two passengers, causing serious injuries, while others sustained minor or no injuries. The balloon slid about 150 metres before coming to rest with minor damage.
Incident date: Publish date:An AS350 helicopter fighting wildfires on the Christchurch Port Hills crashed after up-swinging monsoon bucket cable hit tail rotor assembly. Pilot fatally injured, helicopter destroyed. Key lessons: need for vigilance during turbulence; always fly within aircraft’s limitations; operators should record and investigate all operational incidents; and performance-impairing substances pose a serious risk to aviation safety (NB: very unlikely pilot was impaired at time of accident).
Incident date: Publish date:A Robinson R44 helicopter crashed into dense bush in Glenbervie Forest near Whāngārei. The two occupants – the pilot and a forestry contractor – died in the crash, and the helicopter was consumed by fire. Crash and fire damage destroyed evidence, so the cause or causes could not be determined. The Commission has previously recommended that recorders be fitted to certain classes of helicopter to aid accident investigation.
Incident date: Publish date:At about 0808 on 7 October 2014, a Robinson R44 helicopter (the helicopter) crashed into steep bush to the northeast of Mt Arthur, in the Kahurangi National Park. The helicopter was being flown from Karamea to Nelson for scheduled maintenance, through an area of forecast high winds and turbulence, at the time of the accident. The helicopter broke up in flight after one of the main rotor blades struck the cabin and the main rotor assembly separated from the rest of the helicopter. The pilot, who was the only occupant, was killed.
Incident date: Publish date:On 5 August 2014 an aeroplane on a sightseeing flight charter around the lower South Island crashed near the Poolburn Reservoir, killing the pilot and seriously injuring the two passengers. The aeroplane aerodynamically stalled while being manoeuvred at low level in the vicinity of an airstrip located on remote farmland. The stall occurred at a height that was insufficient to enable recovery before the aircraft struck the ground.
Incident date: Publish date:On 5 May 2014 the pilot of a BK117 helicopter with four other people on board experienced a double engine power loss during a hospital patient transfer flight between Ashburton and Christchurch. The pilot made an emergency landing without power onto farmland near Springston, with no injuries sustained by the occupants and minor damage to the helicopter.
Incident date: Publish date: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.
Incident date: Publish date: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.
Incident date: Publish date: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.
Incident date: Publish date:On 18 May 2013 an Airbus A340 aeroplane operated by LAN Airlines, Chile was making an early-morning departure from Auckland Airport for a scheduled return flight to Sydney. In addition to the captain and the first officer, there were eight cabin crew and 196 passengers on board.
Incident date: Publish date:This accident occurred during a dual training flight to revise handling procedures prior to the student pilot being tested for the initial issue of a private pilot licence. One of the exercises to be revised was the recommended recovery procedure in the event of an un-commanded right roll, as might occur when subjected to an acceleration (or force) less than that due to gravity (G). The instructor had no intention of deliberately causing a low-G condition.
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