Inquiries & Recommendations

Ngā ketuketutanga me ngā tūtohunga

On 20 April 1993 as New Zealand Rail Limited's 1655 train from Wellington to Taita was approaching Wingate one of two children cycling on the station platform fell in front of the train and sustained serious injuries. As a result of the investigation recommendations were made to improve the promulgation of safety information to school children and to impede the free access, of cyclists and skaters, down uninterrupted sloping ramps into railway platforms.

At about 0215 on Saturday, 12 July 1997, the restricted-limit charter vessel "Amigo 1" was en route from Auckland to Great Barrier Island when the skipper made a planned starboard turn too early and the vessel grounded on rocks within the Grey Group Islands, broke up and sank. The skipper was drowned and one of the four passengers is missing, presumed drowned.

On 23 December 1993 as Train 573 approached the London Street level crossing near Eltham the crossing alarms did not activate until the train was very close to the roadway. The Locomotive Engineer reported the incident as an alarm malfunction, but the investigation revealed that the alarms should have been reset manually after a train crossing at nearby Eltham Yard.

On 8 and 9 August 2008, the roll-on/roll-off passenger and freight ferry Monte Stello was involved in 2 berthing occurrences: the first a collision with the floating pontoon at its berth in Picton, and the second a collision with the end of Glasgow Wharf where it was to berth in Wellington.

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.