Inquiries & Recommendations

Ngā ketuketutanga me ngā tūtohunga

At Queenstown Airport two helicopters came into potential conflict due to contrasting mental models, confusion over who is doing what, congested airspace.

TAIC assisted the Marine Accident Investigation Bureau with its inquiry into this occurrence. Report can be found using the link in the sidebar to the right.

On 16 February 1995 at about 0145 hours the fishing trawler "Austro Carina 100851" suffered a fire on board while moored at No.5 Jetty in the Port of Lyttelton. The fire was initiated by oil over-heating on a stove. Safety deficiencies identified included the level of fire fighting training for New Zealand 'Qualified Fishing Deck Hands'.

[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 Monday 12 February 2001, at about 1115, jet boat "Shotover 6" was proceeding down Shotover River at about 75 km/h with the driver and 10 passengers on board, when the engine suddenly stopped. As a result the driver lost steerage of the boat and it continued for about another 50 m before colliding with rocks and overhanging trees on the riverbank. One passenger suffered moderate injuries and the driver and other passengers suffered minor bruising. The boat was slightly damaged. The exact cause of the engine failure was not established. Safety issues identified included:

On 23 December 1994, at 1745 hours Train 702, the Christchurch to Picton "Lynx Express" collided with a car on a level crossing over State Highway 1 just north of Omihi. A passenger in the car was killed and the driver and other passenger received serious injuries in the accident. The effectiveness of the road signs preceding the crossing was the only safety issue identified. Safety recommendations were issued in respect of the signage at railway level crossings.

On Thursday, 20 October 2005 at about 1900, eastbound express freight Train 834 was scheduled to cross with westbound express freight Train 841 at Cora Lynn on the Midland Line. Train 841 was berthed on the loop when Train 834 also entered the loop and collided head on with Train 841. The locomotives on each train were extensively damaged, but there was no damage to the wagons on either train or to the track infrastructure. The locomotive engineers suffered minor injuries. The safety issues identified included:

On Saturday 28 July 2001 at about 0512, the coastal container ship "Spirit of Enterprise" was outbound from Onehunga in Manukau Harbour with 11 crew and a harbour pilot on board when it grounded in soft mud on the starboard side of Wairopa Channel. Initial attempts to refloat the ship failed and it was eventually refloated on the rising tide at about 1437 the same day. There were no injuries and the ship suffered no structural damage.

[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.]

[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.]

The aircraft departed on a scenic flight with 50 litres of fuel onboard. After becoming unsure of his position for some time the pilot returned to Napier and joined a right base leg for runway 25 some 1 hour 55 minutes after departure. The engine lost power and after landing the aircraft in the sea the pilot and passenger swum 150 m to shore.

On Tuesday, 6 June 1995 at 1415 hours the pilot was carrying out a snow landing in ZK-HDI in the course of a scenic flight. The right skid began to drop as the pilot settled the helicopter onto the snow so he lifted off and repositioned to a seemingly flatter area 10 to 15 m away. The helicopter tilted to the right again during the second landing, and as the pilot attempted to retrieve the situation the helicopter rolled rapidly onto its right side. The causal factors in this accident were the difficulty of assessing snow conditions accurately and "dynamic rollover".