Inquiries & Recommendations

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The Australian Transport Safety Bureau investigated this accident on behalf of TAIC. Using the link in the sidebar to the right.

On Sunday 20 February 2005 at about 1300, the Driving Creek Train Linx derailed at Peg 1660. The rear bogie of the last passenger set derailed and was dragged about 15 m before one of the derailment bars hit a rail joint fishplate, causing the rear bogie to jump further to the left-hand side of the track. One passenger received moderate injuries. In the afternoon of Sunday 27 February 2005, the rear bogie of the last passenger set of the Train Linx derailed to the inside of a tight right-hand curve at Peg 1270 on the Driving Creek Railway. There were no injuries.

On Sunday 12 November 1995 at about 1240 hours Train 600, the Northbound "Bay Express" express passenger service between Wellington and Napier, derailed at Pukehou between Waipukurau and Hastings on the Palmerston North Gisborne Line. The train was travelling at approximately 90 km/h when the locomotive, power/baggage van and an empty passenger carriage left the tracks on a right hand curve. The two rear carriages carrying passengers remained on the rails.

On 30 September 2019, a 47-minute outage disrupted Airways New Zealand’s air traffic services. Christchurch controllers lost radar data and primary communications, operating in a degraded display mode and using backup systems. Auckland controllers experienced a shorter loss before switching to local bypass surveillance. Despite the disruption, all 41 domestic flights in controlled airspace landed safely with no loss of separation.

During boarding in adverse weather conditions for a flight from Wellington to Tauranga, a passenger was pushed sideways by a wind gust as she approached the airstair. Attempting to regain her balance, she walked into a blade tip of the four bladed left propeller which had been feathered on shutdown and was stationary but had been partially rotated by the wind from the normal parked position. The passenger received a cut forehead which required 13 stitches. Safety recommendations were made to the Airport company and the Operator.

This report examines 3 derailments due to washouts and slips (occurrences 02-101, 02-102 and 02-103) caused by inclement weather in the South Island during January 2002. No serious injuries were sustained but the opportunity existed in each case for more serious and potentially life threatening injuries to have occurred. Safety issues identified by these incidents included: • the lack of a formalised early warning river flow level notification process for the Rangitata River • the lack of staff available to respond to operating contingencies during the holiday period

On Wednesday 15 December 2004 at about 1450, ZK-JES, a Cessna 172, on a flight from Kerikeri to Waitiki Airstrip, ditched in Cable Bay when the pilot could no longer continue flying visually, because of the weather conditions. One of the 2 passengers drowned, and the other passenger and the pilot were seriously injured.

At about 0300 on 27 July 2008 the fishing vessel San Cuvier dragged its anchor and grounded on rocks close to Tarakeha Point to the east of Opotiki in the Bay of Plenty. The skipper drowned and another crew member was missing presumed drowned after they attempted to abandon the vessel. Another 2 crew members survived by scaling the rocks close to the stricken vessel. The forecast for the area was for storm-force winds and a heavy swell from the north. Awaawakino, where the vessel was anchored, was not a suitable anchorage for the predicted and actual weather conditions.

Please contact Komite Nasional Keselamatan Transportasi (KNKT) for the final report.

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.

[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.]