Inquiries & Recommendations

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At about 1610 on Friday, 2 October 1998, the jet boat "Terminator" was proceeding at a speed of about 65 km/h down one of many secondary channels on a braided section of the Dart River, when the driver was confronted with an obstacle partially blocking a left hand turn in the channel. As the driver attempted to make the turn around the obstruction, his boat struck it, the driver lost control and the boat skidded sideways into a shingle bank and flipped, trapping some of the passengers beneath the boat. The 11 passengers plus the driver suffered minor to serious injuries.

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[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 Saturday 29 October 2011, an Air New Zealand Boeing 737 (the aeroplane) was on a flight from Auckland to Christchurch with six crew and 128 passengers on board. The captain was the "pilot flying" and the first officer was the "pilot monitoring". A check captain was also on the flight deck. He was conducting an annual route check on the captain.

New Zealand has completed its support for this inquiry. Please note, TAIC will not be producing a report for this inquiry.

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.

At 1112 on Sunday 13 April 2008, ZK-IAV, a Eurocopter AS355 helicopter, departed from Wellington International Airport on a visual flight rules flight to Marlborough Sounds, with the pilot and one passenger on board.

The pilot was to fly three passengers from Great Barrier Aerodrome to Auckland Airport. She commenced taxiing the aircraft at a slow walking pace from the parking area to the take-off point for runway 24. The rising sun shining through the windscreen from a low angle made taxiing difficult and the pilot did not recognise that the aircraft was tracking toward a 1.5m deep drainage ditch. The pilot sighted a marker tyre in an unexpected position but was unsuccessful in an attempt to change the aircraft's direction.

On Sunday 17 May 1998, at 1530 hours, the carriages of Glenbrook Vintage Railway Train 31 ran away down a grade and collided with the engine which had been detached for coaling during a scheduled stop at Pukeoware. One minor injury occurred to a passenger as a result of the low-speed collision.

On the afternoon of Tuesday 20 January 1998 the pilot/owner of ZK-EKS was completing pre-take-off checks at Ashburton Aerodrome, at the commencement of a flight to West Melton Aerodrome, when he became aware of an unusual smell similar to exhaust fumes. He shut the engine down without delay, and he, and the three children accompanying him, vacated the aircraft.

In August 2014, a Squirrel helicopter (AS350) took a ski party to a high ridgeline on Mount Alta near Mount Aspiring National Park. The helicopter struck the steep, snowy slope and rolled down the mountain. One occupant died and all others were injured.

At about 1640 on Tuesday 19 September 2000, Train P28 Pahiatua - Palmerston North shunting service passed signal 4R at Danger and entered the main line at Woodville which was occupied by opposing Train 601 Bay Express passenger express. Train 601 had a Clear Proceed signalled route and was not expecting to stop. The conflict was soon realised and both trains were brought to a stop about 750 m apart. Train P28 derailed when its locomotive engineer tried to reverse off the main line through a set of points that had been "run through" when the signal had been passed at Danger.