Inquiries & Recommendations

Ngā ketuketutanga me ngā tūtohunga

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.

The aircraft was making an approach to the airstrip when it was observed to oscillate in pitch. The left wing failed and the aircraft dived into the ground, fatally injuring the pilot.

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.

On Tuesday 16 November 2004, HL7597 was a Boeing 777-200, operating as flight AAR 607 on a scheduled flight from Incheon, South Korea to Auckland with 200 passengers and 17 crew on board. As AAR 607 approached Auckland runway 23L, a work party was cleared onto the closed section of the runway for further work. However, the work party were concerned about the low approach of the landing aircraft, so elected to remain clear of the runway.

On 27 November 2006, about 8 minutes after departing Wellington airport on a scheduled flight to Kaikoura with one passenger, the pilot of a Gippsland Aeronautics GA8 aircraft, registered ZK-KLC, felt the engine misfire and saw that the oil pressure had reduced. The pilot immediately returned to Wellington and made a safe landing. The engine had major internal damage, which the evidence indicated had started with the failure of an exhaust valve tappet. The cause of the tappet failure was not determined.