Inquiries & Recommendations

Ngā ketuketutanga me ngā tūtohunga

On 11 May 2011 the nose landing gear of a Piper PA31-350 Navajo Chieftain (the aeroplane) jammed in a partially retracted position during a training flight at Nelson Aerodrome. The nose landing gear could not be extended again, and in the subsequent landing the aeroplane sustained substantial damage. Neither of the 2 pilots, the only persons on board, was injured.

The Monte Stello is a passenger and freight roll-on-roll-off ferry that was operating on the Cook Strait ferry service on short-term charter to Interislander, a business division of KiwiRail Limited. At about 0600 on 4 May 2011, the Monte Stello was making its entrance into Tory Channel via the eastern entrance. The bridge team comprised the master (acting as pilot), the third mate (acting as co-pilot), the helmsman, and the lookout.

On the morning of 27 April 2011, an instructor and a student pilot in a Robinson R22 helicopter departed from Wanaka Aerodrome on a cross-country training flight through part of the Southern Alps.

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 9 February 2011 a Bombardier DHC-8-311 aeroplane (known as a "Q300" operated by Air Nelson Limited departed from Hamilton Aerodrome on a scheduled flight to Wellington Aerodrome. On board were 2 pilots, a flight attendant and 41 passengers.

On 20 January 2011, the pilot of a Bell 206L-3 LongRanger helicopter ditched the helicopter after experiencing a significant engine power reduction while in the cruise. The pilot did not have time to make an emergency radio call, but the accident was witnessed by people on shore. The pilot was not wearing a life jacket and spent more than 2 hours in the water before he was rescued. He suffered minor injuries only. The helicopter was not able to be recovered from the sea for about one week. The cause of the reported engine power reduction was not determined.

On Friday 14 January 2011, a train that was supposed to be stopped at Papakura was signalled to enter a section of track that another train had been authorised to enter from the opposite direction. A potential head-on collision was recognised by the person-in-charge of a nearby worksite and the situation was resolved before the second train entered the section.

On the afternoon of 8 January 2011, the passenger vessel Volendam was alongside in Lyttelton. Some of the crew were carrying out routine maintenance on one of the starboard lifeboats when at about 1400 the forward lifeboat fall wire parted and 2 crew members fell into the water; the lifeboat remained suspended by the aft lifeboat fall wire.

The investigation of this accident was the responsibility of the Korean Maritime Safety Tribunal (KMST). The Commission provided assistance to the KMST's investigation in accordance with Section 8(2) of the Transport Accident Investigation Commission Act 1990. A copy of the report is provided for download in the sidebar to the right.

On 30 September 2010 a Bombardier DHC-8-311 aeroplane (often referred to as a Q300 or Dash 8) departed from Wellington International Airport on a scheduled flight to Nelson Aerodrome. The aeroplane diverted to Woodbourne Aerodrome (Blenheim) because of poor weather at Nelson. There were 2 pilots, one flight attendant and 43 passengers on board.

On Thursday 30 September 2010, Ganz passenger Train 6250 was travelling from Wellington to Paekakariki on the northbound main line with 44 passengers on board. It was raining heavily and had been for several hours. A landslide had come down from a cutting above the rail corridor and covered the northbound line with debris between Plimmerton and Pukerua Bay. The train was travelling at 60 kilometres per hour (km/h) when it rounded a curve and the driver saw the landslide.

At about 0530 on Saturday 18 September 2010, the coastal container ship Spirit of Resolution departed its berth at the port of Onehunga in Manukau Harbour and took about 1.7 hours to reach the Manukau Bar at the harbour entrance. The sea conditions were forecast to exceed the four-metre maximum permissible observed wave height over the Bar and remain so for at least another two days. The master decided to proceed to the harbour entrance, knowing that he had the option of anchoring inside the entrance and awaiting more favourable conditions.