Inquiries & Recommendations

Ngā ketuketutanga me ngā tūtohunga

At about 0400 on 19 November 2000, the Auckland Harbour tug "Waka Kume", with 2 crew aboard, was made fast to the port quarter of a ship berthing at the Fergusson Container Terminal. As the ship was moving astern towards the berth the pilot decided to abort the approach due to the bow thruster on the ship not being able to hold the bow up into the wind and tide.

On Wednesday 13 April 2011, a loaded coal train was travelling through the Craigieburn-Staircase area on the Midland Line, en route from Ngakawau to Lyttelton. The coal train was travelling more slowly than usual because of infrastructure worksites in the area and because it had a problem with its dynamic brake operation.

On Sunday 16 February 2003, at about 1823, seven wagons at the rear of northbound express freight Train 380 derailed while negotiating a right-hand curve between Taumarunui and Okahukura on the North Island Main Trunk. The curve was covered by a temporary heat restriction of 40 km/h and the train was travelling at about 85 km/h when the derailment occurred. A track buckle was triggered by the passage of the train travelling much faster than the authorised speed. The safety issues identified included: · the excessive speed of the train

On Sunday 2 February 2003 at 1656, ZK-EJG, a Cessna U206G, took off from runway 21 at Ardmore Aerodrome bound for Waiheke Island. On board were the pilot and 2 passengers. After entering a left turn at about 600 feet, there was a sudden and total loss of engine power and the engine stopped. The pilot was able to continue the turn to position and land safely on the reciprocal runway. There were no injuries or further damage to the aircraft. The engine stopped because 2 connecting rods broke, punctured the engine casing and seized the engine.

On Monday, 16 February 1998 at approximately 1630 hours, Train 924, a northbound Invercargill to Dunedin express freight was travelling at the maximum allowable line speed of 80 km/h when the locomotive engineer noticed a minor alignment ripple in the track ahead. The locomotive negotiated this area with only a slight lurch but 14 of the wagons in the body of the train became derailed as they traversed the misalignment.

On Monday 14 February 2005, at about 0831, Train 3037, a Connex Auckland Limited Britomart to Papakura via Newmarket diesel multiple unit passenger train was wrong routed past Signal 30RAC at Westfield to an industrial siding, instead of the Down main. While attempting to regain the correct path, the locomotive engineer multiple unit passed Signal 36LD at stop and travelled ‘wrong line ’ on the Down main where he stopped adjacent to a signal that applied to the opposite main. There were no conflicting movements approaching Train 3037 in either situation.

On 16 August 2003, at about 1420, as the container ship "Spirit of Enterprise" crossed the Manukau Bar, it encountered several large swells, causing it to pitch heavily. The ship's rudder struck the seabed with sufficient force to fracture the rudderstock causing the loss of the rudder, thus disabling the ship. Safety issues identified were: · insufficient "real time" environmental information · pre-accident cracking of the rudderstock · possible pre-damage to the rudderstock from a previous grounding and the jamming of the flap actuating mechanism

On 24 February 2013 a Robinson R44 Raven II helicopter operated by Volcanic Air Safaris Limited had just departed on its second scenic flight for the day, with the pilot and three passengers on board, when the engine lost power. The pilot put the helicopter into autorotation and turned the helicopter towards the shoreline, where she carried out a successful ditching in shallow water near the lake edge. The pilot and passengers were able to evacuate the helicopter uninjured. They were picked up shortly afterwards by a nearby jet boat.

Shortly after take-off at approximately 1305 on 5 July 2009, the right engine propeller assembly of ZK-LOU, a 3-engine Trislander, separated from the engine crankshaft and struck the side of the aeroplane. Nobody was seriously injured, but the aeroplane fuselage was extensively damaged and a passenger door was removed, leaving a large opening adjacent to some passengers.

On 10 April 1994, Bantam ZK-TKP suffered an in-flight structural failure of the right wing. Control of the aircraft was lost, and the two occupants died in the ensuing impact.

On Saturday 9 August 2003, at about 0135, eastbound express freight Train 337 derailed about 7 m before the west portal of Kaimai Tunnel, between Hemopo and Whatakao. Five empty wagons and one loaded wagon derailed at a failed rail joint. There were no injuries. Safety issues identified included: • the suitability of the standards for rail end mismatch and deformity at joints • the security of a fishplated joint fastened with less than the full number of bolts • the length of time the temporary joint remained in track • the train exceeding the temporary speed limit

On Sunday 7 May 2000, at about 2000 hours, the refrigerated cargo carrier, "Caribic", departed Tauranga with 10 crew and a harbour pilot on board. The vessel successfully negotiated the Cutter Channel and turned to starboard to round Mount Maunganui into the departure channel. The rate of turn became excessive and the master and pilot were unable to reduce it sufficiently to prevent the vessel grounding inside Tanea number 2 buoy. The vessel was refloated and returned to its berth assisted by 2 harbour tugs. There were no injuries but the vessel suffered moderate hull bottom damage.