Inquiries & Recommendations

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On 4 March 2009, the Tutukaka Coastguard vessel Dive! Tutukaka Rescue was tasked to assist a recreational vessel in difficulty in Ngunguru Bay south of Tutukaka. It was night-time and the sea condition was rough. The crew of the Coastguard vessel became so focused on locating the vessel in difficulty that they lost awareness of where their own vessel was and struck a rock at a moderate speed. The Dive! Tutukaka Rescue was extensively damaged and several crew members were seriously injured in the collision.

The Marine Accident Investigation Bureau carried out a limited investigation of this occurrence, assisted by TAIC. On 17/9/09 the Commission closed the inquiry as MAIB is unlikely to produce a full report on the incident. MAIB will publish a report in digest format.

Between 21 June 2008 and 7 May 2009, 3 express freight trains derailed at various locations on the North Island Main Trunk (NIMT) line. All 3 derailments were caused by the failure and collapse of bogie side frames on wagons. The side frame failures were all similar in that they started with a fatigue crack that propagated over a period of days rather than weeks, through the box section of the side frame, until the remaining material failed in overload during normal train operations.

On 22 April 2009, the Korean-registered fishing vessel Pantas No.1, while chartered to a New Zealand-registered fishing company and fully compliant with a New Zealand safe ship management system was discharging its cargo of frozen squid at the New Zealand port of Bluff.

On 30 March 2009 at 2340, a Fairchild SA227-AC Metroliner III air ambulance aeroplane, registered ZK-NSS, took off from Auckland International Airport on a night flight to New Plymouth Aerodrome to uplift a patient. On board were 2 pilots and a medical team of 3. The flight was without incident until the approach at New Plymouth. The pilots carried out a visual approach, although that was generally not permitted by the aeroplane

On 4 March 2009, the Tutukaka Coastguard vessel Dive! Tutukaka Rescue was tasked to assist a recreational vessel in difficulty in Ngunguru Bay south of Tutukaka. It was night-time and the sea condition was rough. The crew of the Coastguard vessel became so focused on locating the vessel in difficulty that they lost awareness of where their own vessel was and struck a rock at a moderate speed. The Dive! Tutukaka Rescue was extensively damaged and several crew members were seriously injured in the collision.

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.

General On 19 February 2009, the Australian-registered passenger ship Oceanic Discoverer was at its berth in the New Zealand port of Napier. The crew were conducting a fire and emergency drill, of which part was to close and test the hydraulically closed watertight doors.

On 9 February 2009, the passenger and pilot of an Airborne XT-912 microlight aircraft (microlight), registered ZK-DGZ (DGZ), were fatally injured as a result of an accident while on a scenic flight over the Abel Tasman National Park, at the top of the South Island. The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) conducted a technical investigation into the accident and the Commission opened an inquiry into the regulatory context of commercial microlight 'adventure aviation' flights.

At about 1924 hours on 5 January 2009, a recreational jet-boat and personal watercraft collided almost head-on at high speed close to willow trees near the bank of the Kawarau River, Queenstown. None of the 3 persons on the jet-boat was wearing a lifejacket2, so when the driver and front-seat passenger were ejected from the boat in the collision and probably rendered unconscious, they drowned. The third person received minor injuries.

On 2 January 2009 the Government of the Republic of Vanuatu requested assistance from New Zealand in the investigation of a fatal air accident that had occurred on 19 December 2008. The request was approved and on 21 January 2009 a Transport Accident Investigation Commission investigator arrived in Vanuatu. An engineering specialist joined the team 3 days later.

On 19 December 2008, Train 5250 was an empty push/pull service being repositioned to start passenger operations when it collided with the stop block at Britomart station, Auckland. Some damage occurred to the coupler on the front of the train and the stop block, but neither the locomotive engineer (driver) nor the train manager was injured. The primary factor contributing to the collision was the failure of an electrical contactor within the