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 Saturday, 4 May 1996, at approximately 1530 hours, the driver of a passenger jet boat, whilst attempting a high-speed close encounter with a rock face at Highcliffs on the Kawarau River, glanced the boat off a rock outcrop and the boat collided, head on, with the cliff face. The driver and four passengers received minor to serious injuries in the collision. Causal factors included an error of judgement by the jet boat driver. The driver's last-minute attempt to abort the manoeuvre was a contributing factor to the collision.

[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.]

Momentary driver distraction led to a tourist jet boat striking and overturning on a midstream gravel bank in the Dart River, near Glenorchy, at about 1545 on 20 February 2009. The driver and 3 of the 18 passengers suffered injuries, while the boat received minor damage to its hull and moderate damage to its canopy.

A AS 355 helicopter with a PA 28 aeroplane, both on Police patrol flights over Auckland City, collided on 26 November 1993. Safety issues discussed include the limitations of the "see and avoid" concept of collision avoidance, the use of radio contact between aircraft and the variety of radio frequencies in use.

At about 0400 on Friday 8 December 2000, Train 828, a northbound express freight train, passed Signal 212 at Middleton at "Stop" and collided head-on with departing southbound express freight Train 951. Three locomotive crew members received minor injuries. The locomotive on each train and a number of wagons were extensively damaged. Safety issues identified included the control of locomotive engineers hours of duty, fatigue management and the ability of the locomotive vigilance system to overcome short-term attention deficits in time to prevent this type of collision.

On 10 February 2010, ZK-TZR, a Cessna C208 aeroplane, had just taken off from Nelson Aerodrome on a scheduled commercial flight to Wellington when the pilots noticed a reduction in engine performance and a strong smell of fuel in the cabin. There were 2 pilots and 4 passengers on board at the time.

A heliskier was struck and killed by a main rotor blade of Aerospatiale AS 350B helicopter, registration ZK-HWB, on the Harris Mountains, near Wanaka on 6 September 1993. The safety issue of the more effective control of parties of skiers prior to boarding helicopters was addressed by the operator while this investigation was in progress.

At approximately 1630 hours on Friday 17 December 1999, a rake of wagons being propelled from Fletcher Paper private siding in Mt Maunganui derailed as a result of being pushed over a derailing block. The wagons slewed from the track and crossed a public road level crossing before colliding with a building and coming to rest on the opposite side of the road. The safety deficiencies identified included: • the use of motorcycles by staff during shunting of sidings • the lack of formalisation of local speed limits • the positioning of staff during the propelling movement.

[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 9 March 1999, Train 523, a southbound New Plymouth to Palmerston North express freight, overran Whangaehu without a valid track warrant and continued approximately 18 km into the next section before the error was realised. There was no opposing traffic or obstruction and once the overrun was discovered a valid warrant was issued and a relief locomotive engineer completed the remainder of the journey. The overrun resulted from a lapse in concentration by the locomotive engineer.

On Thursday 18 March 1999 at about 1645 hours, ZK-DOA, a Cessna 206 on an aerial surveillance air transport flight around Pitt Island, had a sudden engine failure and ditched in the sea. The pilot and four passengers escaped from the aircraft and swam to shore without the aid of life-jackets. Life-jackets were on board the aircraft for the occupants' use but there was insufficient time for them to locate and don the jackets. The aircraft was not recovered from the sea and the cause of the engine failure was not established.