Inquiries & Recommendations

Ngā ketuketutanga me ngā tūtohunga

On Wednesday 1 November 1995, Fletcher FU24 ZK-EUG collided with the terrain during topdressing operations on Rongoio Station, 18 nm north of Wairoa. An intense fire ensued and the pilot lost his life in the accident. In-flight incapacitation of the pilot was identified as the probable cause. [As a result of the investigation of this and a previous similar accident (see Report 95-010) ] a safety recommendation pertaining to medical advice was made to the Aviation Industry Association.

On Sunday 10 December 2006 at about 1230, the fishing vessel Santa Maria II with a skipper, 4 crew members and a Ministry of Fisheries observer on board was fishing off the Kermadec Islands in Fisheries Management Area 10 when a fire was discovered in the engine room. The skipper issued a distress message while the rest of the crew sealed the engine room and attempted to discharge fire suppressant into the engine room.

The aircraft was equipped with the aircraft manuafacturers wheel/ski undercarriage. At an indicated airspeed of 130 knots the pilot heard a loud bang accompanied by a jolt and then severe vibration, followed by another loud bang and worse vibration. Both left and right skiis had pivoted about their attachments to a position beyond the vertical, creating considerable drag. An emergency landing was carried out, and on touchdown the heels of the skiis contacted the ground which returned them to normal position facilitating a normal roll out.

On Wednesday 5 October 2005, at 1441, ZK-MCJ, an Aerospatiale Alenia ATR 72-212A, landed at Queenstown Aerodrome, where it inadvertently left the runway. On board were 47 passengers and 2 cabin crew, and 2 pilots and a maintenance engineer on the flight deck. There were no injuries, and no damage to the aeroplane.

On Thursday 9 November 2006, ZK-HUC, a Robinson R44 helicopter carrying 3 police officers and the pilot, collided with an electricity transmission line during a coastal search. The helicopter incurred minor damage and the pilot landed immediately. He subsequently twice shifted the helicopter to avoid sea damage and to facilitate recovery of the helicopter. The pilot received a serious injury but none of the passengers were injured.

On 29 August 2002, an incident occurred at Maimai when a locomotive engineer was authorised by train control to enter a section of track already occupied by a rail contractor. The locomotive engineer saw the contractor and stopped the train short of the work site.

On 8 August 2013 the IDAS Bulker was departing Napier with a full cargo of logs. The vessel was initially under the control of a Napier pilot, who relinquished control of the vessel to the master approximately abeam South Pania Buoy (while still in the pilotage area) and departed the vessel. The master of the IDAS Bulker was concerned that the course that the pilot had advised him to steer would bring the IDAS Bulker too close to another vessel that was inbound to the Napier pilot station.

On 20 June 2010, a Boeing 737-800 aeroplane operated by Pacific Blue was being flown on a conventional instrument approach to Queenstown Aerodrome. When making an instrument approach, pilots must see the runway before they may descend below the minimum descent altitude and they must maintain visual reference with the runway until landing. If visual reference is lost, they must execute a missed approach procedure.

On Friday 1 March 2002 at about 1130, while assisting a tanker to depart from the Lyttelton oil wharf, the master of the harbour tug "Purau" lost control and the tug’s stern grounded, causing damage to the starboard propeller and drive shaft. The safety issues identified included: • poor ergonomics of the propulsion controls on the 2 port company tugs • incomplete training of staff • imbalance of the calibration of the propulsion units • unauthorised persons on board the tug Safety recommendations were made to Lyttelton Port Company to address the safety issues.

The Commission, pursuant to Annex 13 of the Chicago Convention, assisted the French BEA (Bureau d’Enquêtes et d’Analyses pour la sécurité de l’aviation civile) in their inquiry into this accident. The Commission acted as an accredited representative, representing New Zealand's interests in the inquiry. The final report can be found on the BEA website, using the link in the sidebar to the right.

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

[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.]