Inquiries & Recommendations

Ngā ketuketutanga me ngā tūtohunga

On 4 September 2010 the pilot of a Walter Fletcher aeroplane (the aeroplane) with eight parachutists on board lost control during take-off from Fox Glacier aerodrome. The aeroplane, registered ZK-EUF, crashed in a paddock adjacent to the runway, killing all nine occupants. The aeroplane had been modified from an agricultural aeroplane into a parachute-drop aeroplane three months before the accident. The modification had been poorly managed, and discrepancies in the modification documentation were not detected by the Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand, which approved the change in role.

On 4 September 2010 the pilot of a Walter Fletcher aeroplane (the aeroplane) with eight parachutists on board lost control during take-off from Fox Glacier aerodrome. The aeroplane, registered ZK-EUF, crashed in a paddock adjacent to the runway, killing all nine occupants.

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

On 13 August 2010 a scheduled Auckland passenger train ('the passenger train') with about 100 people on board travelled from Papakura to Britomart Station in central Auckland via Westfield and Tamaki Stations. An unscheduled shunt was signalled to follow the passenger train from Westfield as far as Tamaki, so that it could enter a rail siding.

On Monday 26 July 2010, two Cessna 152 aeroplanes were being used for training flights in the vicinity of Feilding Aerodrome. One was climbing away from the aerodrome circuit with a solo student pilot on board and the other was returning to the aerodrome circuit with an instructor and another student pilot on board. The 2 aeroplanes collided at an altitude of 1300 feet about 1100 feet above the ground.

New Zealand's flying training sector

At about 1930 on 21 June 2010, the bulk carrier Hanjin Bombay left the wharf at Mount Maunganui loaded with a full cargo of logs for the port of Kunsan in Korea. The vessel was under the control of a Port of Tauranga harbour pilot, with the master in command.

On 20 June 2010, a Boeing 737-800 aeroplane operated by Pacific Blue was being flown on a conventional instrument approach to Queenstown Aerodrome. When making an instrument approach, pilots must see the runway before they may descend below the minimum descent altitude and they must maintain visual reference with the runway until landing. If visual reference is lost, they must execute a missed approach procedure.

This was a serious runway incursion incident that occurred when an aviation security officer drove a patrol vehicle onto the active runway at Dunedin International Airport at night in heavy rain ahead of a landing aeroplane. A collision was narrowly avoided because the vehicle driver kept to the shoulder of the runway and stopped soon after entering the runway.

On 23 May 2010 the general-purpose oilfield support vessel Marsol Pride was conducting underwater operations within the Tui oil and gas field off the west coast of New Zealand. The Marsol Pride was fitted with a fixed carbon dioxide (CO2) fire smothering system for its engine room. Late that night a valve on one of the CO2 pilot cylinders developed a leak and charged the system ready for release. A second leak in the main control valve then caused the entire system to activate resulting in an uncontrolled release of CO2 gas into the engine room.

On 10 May 2010, a light helicopter and a light aeroplane, both of which were being used for dual pilot training, had a near-collision overhead New Plymouth Aerodrome.

The Anatoki was a New Zealand-registered coastal cargo vessel on a short coastal voyage from Nelson to Tarakohe. The Anatoki departed Nelson at about midnight on 5 May 2010 and was due to arrive off Tarakohe at 0545 the next day. On 6 May 2010 at about 0506 the Anatoki ran aground off Rangihaeata Head in Golden Bay, close to the Tarakohe Harbour. The mate on watch at the time was unaware that the vessel had run aground for at least another 10 minutes. The mate then spent several minutes attempting to refloat the vessel before advising the master of the grounding.