Inquiries & Recommendations

Ngā ketuketutanga me ngā tūtohunga

[A preliminary investigation showed that the circumstances were not likely to have significant implications for transport safety. Consistent with section 13 of the TAIC Act the Commission discontinued the investigation and no report was published.]

On 22 May 1993 as the southbound express freight train from Westfield to Wellington rounded a bend near Taumarunui at dusk, the driver sighted a pedestrian on the tracks. The pedestrian lost his life when he was struck by the train.

On Sunday 29 September 2002, at about 1240, express freight Train F8829 derailed near Waikokopu, between Wairoa and Gisborne when eight wagons loaded with fertiliser dropped between the running rails while negotiating a tight radius curve. There were no injuries. The safety issues identified included: ·the ability of the inspection regime to monitor a known track defect and take timely corrective action ·the absence of standards to define life expired track assets ·the over-loading of wagons conveying fertiliser on the Napier-Gisborne track section.

[A preliminary investigation showed that the circumstances were not likely to have significant implications for transport safety. Consistent with section 13 of the TAIC Act the Commission discontinued the investigation and no report was published.]

On 28 May 1993 a train collided with a motor vehicle on a level crossing near Levin. The driver, the sole occupant of the motor vehicle, was seriously injured. Safety issues discussed in the report are design criteria for level crossings adjacent to main road intersections and the display of warnings to motorists following the disablement of crossing warning devices.

[A preliminary investigation showed that the circumstances were not likely to have significant implications for transport safety. Consistent with section 13 of the TAIC Act the Commission discontinued the investigation and no report was published.]

[A preliminary investigation showed that the circumstances were not likely to have significant implications for transport safety. Consistent with section 13 of the TAIC Act the Commission discontinued the investigation and no report was published.]

On Thursday 22 March 2007 at 1615, A6 EBC, an Emirates Boeing 777-300ER, with 357 passengers, 16 cabin crew and 2 pilots on board, started its take off on runway 05 Right at Auckland International Airport bound for Sydney.

NZ domestic air traffic control services suffered a four-minute interruption in radar and radio contact with aircraft, and standby radio and telephone systems didn’t all work as expected. It took several hours to get flights back to normal. Maintenance work to upgrade technical systems had caused a ‘broadcast storm’ that disabled the digital data network and restricted the flow of digital data traffic. Network architecture and management have since been improved. The Commission has recommended an update for Civil Aviation Rules.

ATC issues led to a loss of required separation and a near collision between a Cessna 182 parachute-drop aircraft with a single pilot on board and a Bombardier DHC-8 Q311 airliner with 3 crew and 31 passengers on board near Mercer on 9 August 2009. Both aircraft were operating as cleared by ATC when the airliner’s equipment detected the conflict and directed it away from a potential collision with the parachute-drop aircraft, which had just dispatched 4 parachutists and commenced its descent.

At approximately 1215 hours on Tuesday, 18 May 1999, a collision occurred between the north yard shunt and No. 1 shunt in Middleton yard. No injuries occurred but the locomotives sustained some damage and 3000 litres of diesel leaked from a ruptured fuel tank. The safety deficiencies identified included: • the suitability of the procedures and compliance monitoring in place to ensure the safe operation of remote control locomotives

On Sunday 18 April 1999 at around 1538 hours, ZK-EKJ, a Cessna 206 floatplane on a round-trip scenic flight from Te Anau to overhead Milford Sound, struck the top of a vertical craggy mountain ridge. The pilot and 4 passengers died during the impact.