Inquiries & Recommendations

Ngā ketuketutanga me ngā tūtohunga

On Thursday 7 June 2001 at about 2332, the passenger and freight ferry "Arahura", with 63 passengers and 68 crew on board, was approaching Wellington when a machinery space fire alarm that had been activated was being investigated. On opening the sliding watertight door to the machinery space the engineers were met by water pouring from the space at a height of about 1.6 m above the floor plates. The door was closed again and pumps started to pump the water overboard. Prior to the flooding being discovered the watchkeeping engineer had been pumping engine room bilges for some time.

On 25 October 1993 the southbound Auckland-Wellington passenger train No. 203 collided with the edge of an open door of a container on a northbound freight train, No. B38, which was stationary in a crossing loop at Whangamarino. A window in one of the carriages was broken injuring two passengers. The safety issue identified in this report is the minimum spacing between main lines and crossing loops.

[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 Wednesday 31 October 2001, at about 0800, Air National Chieftain ZK-RDT, operating as Origin 457, was on a scheduled passenger flight from New Plymouth to Auckland when the cabin door opened in flight. Passengers held the door in a slightly ajar position for about 10 minutes while the aeroplane was landed at Auckland. The incident resulted from wear and distortion of door latch components, which had not been detected and rectified.

On 28 March 2013, a Tranz Metro six-car Ganz Mavag electric multiple unit train was running an evening peak-hour passenger service from Wellington to Taita. The train was being driven by a trainee driver (trainee) undergoing on-the-job training. His performance was being monitored by a "minder driver", who was sitting across from and outside the driver's cab.

On 17 February 2008, a mid-air collision between a light aeroplane and a small helicopter over Paraparaumu resulted in the deaths of 2 student pilots (aged 17 and 19 years) and a flight examiner (aged 30). Both aircraft were destroyed and several homes and commercial premises damaged, but no persons on the ground were injured.

On Monday 9 October 2006 at 0806, passenger Train 4045 travelled 526 metres between Britomart station and Quay Park junction with the locomotive engineer not at the controls of the train. The locomotive engineer had left the train to operate a valve to restore air-brake pressure following an uninitiated emergency brake application. Once air-brake pressure had been restored, the train began to move before the locomotive engineer re-boarded the train. There was no damage and none of the 3 crew and 12 passengers on board at the time was injured. Safety issues identified included:

On 9 February 1994, NZRL Train 849, a westbound unlaiden coal train on the Midland Line, encountered a digger obstructing the line on the Avoca Bank, between Staircase and Craigieburn. The crew sighted the digger in time to stop the train safely. The safety issue identified in this investigation is the adequacy of protection rules applicable to track workers.

[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 Tuesday, 6 October 1998, at about 0220, the Korean stern trawler "Dong Won 529" grounded on rocks at the southern end of Breaksea Islands, Stewart Island. Because of forecast bad weather, the vessel, with 39 crew on board, had been on passage from the Solander fishing grounds to more sheltered fishing grounds to the east of Stewart Island. Before the vessel could be refloated it slipped off the rocks and sank. There were no injuries. Safety issues identified included: • poor watchkeeping practices • preoccupation with non-watchkeeping duties

Addendum to 99-122: Following the publication of Railway Occurrence Report 99-122 the Commission received additional information based on a new recorded departure time of Train 919 from Clinton. This strengthened some previously expressed concerns at the interpretation which could be placed on sections of the report covering actions open to the locomotive engineer of Train 919 (LE2) on the day.