Inquiries & Recommendations

Ngā ketuketutanga me ngā tūtohunga

On Thursday 12 May 2005, at about 0410, Train 211, a southbound express freight service, passed signal 8L at the north end of Rangitawa at Stop. The train continued on the main line until the locomotive engineer regained situational awareness and stopped the train. Train 230, a northbound express freight train, was approaching Rangitawa from the south end and had been signalled to enter the loop at the time. When Train 211 passed Signal 8L at Stop, the signal governing the entry of Train 230 into the loop reverted to Stop and Train 230 stopped about 100 m short of the signal.

On Friday 6 May 2005, at about 0720, pier 4 of Bridge 256 between Nuhaka and Opoutama on the Palmerston North-Gisborne Line suffered a catastrophic failure and collapsed while work Train 60 was being piloted across the bridge at the start of a 2-day work programme to underpin pier 4. A 60-tonne rail crane and the adjacent ends of spans 3 and 4 fell into the river. There were 10 staff members making up the work gang, but because they had been moved off the bridge before the work train started to cross, there were no injuries.

On the night of Tuesday 3 May 2005, Fairchild-Swearingen SA227-AC Metro III aeroplane ZK-POA, operated by Airwork (NZ) Limited, was on a night air transport freight flight with 2 crew and 1790 kilograms of cargo when it suffered an in-flight upset which developed into a spiral dive. The crew did not recover control and the aircraft became overstressed and broke up, to fall in pieces about rural farmland near Stratford. Both crew were killed and the aircraft and cargo destroyed.

On Monday 2 May 2005 shortly after 1911, the ferry "Santa Regina" outbound from Picton collided with the inbound private launch "Timeless" in the vicinity of Picton Point, Queen Charlotte Sound. The ship had a Master, 31 crew and 71 passengers on board and the Timeless had 2 persons on board. The bow of the ship struck the starboard side of the launch abaft mid-length, cutting the smaller boat in two. One person on the launch managed to escape from the cabin and climb onto a piece of wreckage to await rescue. The body of the other person on the launch was found about 30 minutes later.

On Sunday 24 April 2005 at about 1150, the coastal passenger and freight ferry Arahura was approaching the entrance to Tory Channel while on passage between Wellington and Picton when it sustained a major loss of propulsion power. The Master was able to abort the entrance into Tory Channel and con the ship safely back into open water where the Arahura remained until power was restored. The Master then conned the ship to Picton, via the northern entrance to Queen Charlotte Sound, where repairs were effected to one of the diesel generators. Safety issues identified included:

On Saturday 17 April 2005 at about 1205, the Black Cat with a Master, a deckhand and 31 passengers on board was on a cruise around the lower reaches of Akaroa Harbour. As they approached the shore in Seal Bay, the Master put both engines astern, but a control failure caused the starboard engine to go ahead and the boat to collide with the natural rock wall. The impact was such that the bow bounced off, which allowed the boat to continue back into clear water.

[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.]

On Friday 1 April 2005, Train 2100 was a scheduled empty passenger service being positioned to Waitakere to start passenger operations for the day. At 0627, soon after the train had passed through Ranui station, the coupling between the locomotive and the guard’s van parted. As a result of the parting, the automatic brake system lost all air pressure and brought the train to a stop.

[Investigation incorporated in report 04-130. Please refer to that report.]

[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 7 March 2005 at about 1651, the Wellington to Auckland Overlander passenger express Train 200 departed from Taumarunui and entered the section ahead. At about 1658 the locomotive engineer was required to stop his train when he became aware of a hi-rail vehicle on the track in front of him.