Inquiries & Recommendations

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On Monday, 16 February 1998 at approximately 1630 hours, Train 924, a northbound Invercargill to Dunedin express freight was travelling at the maximum allowable line speed of 80 km/h when the locomotive engineer noticed a minor alignment ripple in the track ahead. The locomotive negotiated this area with only a slight lurch but 14 of the wagons in the body of the train became derailed as they traversed the misalignment.

On Thursday, 5 February 1998 at about 1630 hours, Train 721, a southbound Picton to Christchurch express freight was near Scargill when the locomotive engineer noticed a buckle in the track ahead. He was unable to slow the train significantly in the limited distance available and although the locomotive and the three leading wagons traversed the buckled track, the following eleven wagons became derailed before the train came to a stop. A safety issue identified was the failure of the safety system to achieve adequate protection of a predictable weak spot.

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.

At about 2145 on Monday, 19 January 1998, the general cargo vessel "T.A. Explorer" was outbound from Nelson under pilotage when the vessel failed to make the turn near the entrance to the harbour and ran aground on Haulashore Island. The vessel was re-floated after about 20 minutes and, as damage was minimal, continued its voyage to Timaru. The grounding occurred because the speed of the ship was too high for the tugs to assist in the manner intended by the pilot. Safety issues identified included: • incomplete assessment of new piloting techniques,

On the morning of Friday, 9 January 1998, the pilot flew Cessna 172 ZK-EWH from Queenstown to Te Anau. The aircraft took off for the return flight, with two passengers, at about 0830 hours but did not arrive at Queenstown. Emergency location transmitter signals led to the discovery of the wreckage of ZK-EWH later in the morning. The aircraft had struck a beech-forested slope in a steeply banked attitude at an elevation of about 3300 feet, some 200 feet below a saddle between two tussock covered peaks. The pilot and passengers were killed.

At about 1545 on Friday, 26 December 1997, a jet boat carrying 10 passengers plus the driver, ventured into a shallow tributary of the Lower Shotover River. The driver turned hard left in an attempt to regain the main channel but the boat skidded sideways along a shingle bar for some 10 m before it rolled and came to rest upside down. Several of the passengers and the driver received minor to serious injuries in the accident.

At 1610 hours on Sunday 21 December 1997 a BAe 146 aircraft overtook a Fairchild Metro aircraft flying on the same track and at the same flight level, in controlled airspace. Both were on scheduled passenger flights. The estimated passing distance was 100 to 500 metres horizontally, and 20 to 150 feet vertically. Both aircraft were complying with their air traffic control clearances, and were under radar control. Neither of two radar controllers, in Auckland and Christchurch, had perceived the conflict between the aircraft. Safety issues identified are:

[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 Thursday, 4 December 1997, the tug "Sea-Tow 22" was towing the barge "Sea-Tow 17" inbound across the Greymouth Bar. The tow line parted at about 0500, just as the barge was entering the moles at the entrance to the Grey River. The run in the river carried the barge back out over the bar and, despite several attempts, the crew were not able to retrieve the tow. The tug collided with the barge during one of the retrieval attempts, and ran aground. The barge grounded shortly after. The tug was able to re-float, unaided, on the next rising tide and pull the barge off the beach.

At 0200 on Wednesday, 3 December 1997, while the Ro-Ro general cargo vessel "Union Rotoma" was on passage from Melbourne to Auckland, fire broke out in the engine room disabling one of its two engines, and causing substantial damage to electrical wiring and control systems. The crew used a fixed carbon dioxide extinguishing plant to put out the fire, and after the crew spent several hours making temporary repairs, the vessel was able to proceed on one engine to Sydney, the closest port of refuge.

On Monday 1 December 1997, at about 1015, the dinghy, "Solo", with eleven persons on board, was proceeding on a school trip across Nelson Harbour to Haulashore Island. The boat encountered sea conditions with waves in excess of its freeboard and swamped. There were no injuries.

[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.]