Inquiries & Recommendations

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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.

This accident occurred during a dual training flight to revise handling procedures prior to the student pilot being tested for the initial issue of a private pilot licence. One of the exercises to be revised was the recommended recovery procedure in the event of an un-commanded right roll, as might occur when subjected to an acceleration (or force) less than that due to gravity (G). The instructor had no intention of deliberately causing a low-G condition.

At the conclusion of a brief local flight the pilot descended the helicopter over the Dart River. The helicopter collided with a pair of electric fence feeder wires, spanning a dry channel between the eastern bank and an adjacent island, and shortly afterwards struck the river bed. The pilot received fatal injuries but the passenger survived the accident.

On 21 August 2008 the Commission declared that this occurrence does not meet the test of section 13(1) (b) of the TAIC Act, and approved closing the investigation without publishing a report.

On Tuesday 18 January 2005, a track warrant control irregularity occurred at Woodville when a track warrant was issued to a locomotive engineer authorising his train to berth on the main line at Makotuku to cross an opposing train. The locomotive engineer of the opposing train was already in possession of a track warrant authorising his train to berth on the main line at Makotuku.

On Monday 16 February 2004 at about 0250 Train P40, a Palmerston North to Oringi return shunting service, derailed when it ran into a washout at the 43.554 km, between Oringi and Woodville on the Palmerston North – Gisborne Line. Six wagons derailed and about 150 m of track were damaged. Surface water from intense rainfall ponded upstream of culverts at 43.554 km and 43.581 km and washed out about 5 m of track formation. There were no injuries. The safety issue identified was the running of trains in adverse weather conditions after special track inspections had ceased.

[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.]

[Investigated on behalf of the Government of Solomon Islands. Direct any inquiries for copy of the report to the Minister of Transport of that State]

On Thursday 7 June 2001 at about 2332, the passenger and freight ferry "Arahura", with 63 passengers and 68 crew on board, was approaching Wellington when a machinery space fire alarm that had been activated was being investigated. On opening the sliding watertight door to the machinery space the engineers were met by water pouring from the space at a height of about 1.6 m above the floor plates. The door was closed again and pumps started to pump the water overboard. Prior to the flooding being discovered the watchkeeping engineer had been pumping engine room bilges for some time.

On 25 October 1993 the southbound Auckland-Wellington passenger train No. 203 collided with the edge of an open door of a container on a northbound freight train, No. B38, which was stationary in a crossing loop at Whangamarino. A window in one of the carriages was broken injuring two passengers. The safety issue identified in this report is the minimum spacing between main lines and crossing loops.

[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.]