Inquiries & Recommendations

Ngā ketuketutanga me ngā tūtohunga

In April 2016, a Guimbal Cabri helicopter had an in-flight engine fire. The pilot landed safely and escaped unhurt but the fire destroyed the helicopter. The Commission found that the fire was due to a faulty spark plug, but the way it failed is so rare that there are no significant implications for aviation safety, so there are no recommendations in this case. The CAA and the manufacturer have taken action to identify other defective spark plugs. The safety lesson is that maintenance personnel need to be vigilant for anomalies when installing components, even from approved suppliers.

On Friday 12 January and Thursday 18 January 1996, Metroliners ZK-POB and ZK-SDA respectively were involved in runway excursions after the pilot flying engaged the nosewheel steering during their landing runs. No injuries were sustained in either event and the damage to the aircraft was minor.

On 27 August 2011 the Jet Raider was making a trip from Auckland to Waiheke Island in the Hauraki Gulf with 5 crew and 316 passengers on board. At about 11:20 the starboard engine failed catastrophically when 2 engine connecting rods broke free of the crankshaft and were ejected through the engine casing.

On Friday 31 August 2012 a scheduled Auckland metropolitan passenger train was travelling south from Britomart Station to Manukau Station. The train had stopped at Puhinui Station to exchange passengers. While it was sitting at the station, train control set the wrong route for the train through Wiri Junction. The route was set to take the train straight through to Papakura instead of diverging to the Manukau Branch Line. The signal ahead of the train was showing the driver that his train was routed for Papakura instead of Manukau. However, the driver did not recognise this.

On Saturday 2 December 2006, Partenavia P68B ZK-MYF, a light twin-engine aeroplane, was being flown on a cross-country training flight from Napier to Palmerston North, when it had a power loss near Waipukurau. The instructor completed a forced landing into a paddock resulting in moderate damage to the aircraft. There were no injuries.

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

On Friday, 23 April 1999, the ro-ro cargo vessel "Union Rotoiti", with 19 crew on board, was on passage from Melbourne to Auckland when it encountered heavy weather. The master had deviated to avoid the leading quadrant of a depression and to reduce the motion of the vessel. Due to fuel filtration problems, the "Union Rotoiti" lost all power for about 50 minutes during which it lay broached to the sea and swell, rolling violently.

At 1132 hours on Thursday 15 May 1997 ten free-falling parachutists exited from Hercules NZ7002 at 10 000 feet above Whenuapai Aerodrome. The parachutists passed some miles in front and to the left of a Bandeirante aircraft transiting the area at 7000 feet. No collision occurred between the parachutists and the Bandeirante. A clearance to release the parachutists had been issued to the Hercules crew but the clearance was inappropriate due to a misunderstanding between the Air Traffic Controllers.

On Wednesday 7 November 2007, at about 0140, the trailing bogie of wagon UK10696, on Auckland to New Plymouth express freight Train 533, derailed at 103.848 kilometres (km) on the Stratford - Okahukura Line. The derailed wagon was dragged a further 2.75 km until the leading bogie also derailed. The wagon tipped on its side, derailing the wagon immediately in front and behind it. There were no injuries.

On 27 February 1994, ZK-HTU, a Hughes 269B helicopter collided with a ridge at an elevation of 4500 feet in the Tararua Range. One passenger was killed, and the pilot and another passenger received serious injuries.

At about 0400 on Monday 5 May 2003, while steaming towards fishing grounds to the west of Fiji, the fishing vessel "Solander Kariqa" suffered a fire in the domestic refrigeration space resulting from maintenance involving oxy-acetylene cutting. The crew fought and contained the fire, which was not totally extinguished until about 2000 that evening. There were no injuries to the crew, but had they been unable to extinguish the fire with the limited fire fighting equipment available the vessel may have been lost with resulting injuries or fatalities. Safety issues identified were:

This report examines 3 separate track buckle occurrences on the South Island coal route during the summer of 2001/2002. Two of the track buckles resulted in derailments. Safety issues identified by these incidents included: • the need for staff training to ensure they recognise and respond to visible track defects • the need to protect continuous welded rail, formed at unknown neutral temperature • the need to control tamping and lining to ensure track is not realigned leaving increased compressive stress in the rails.