Inquiries & Recommendations

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At 0707 on 10 January 2023, a hi-rail vehicle (HRV1) stopped on a curve near Te Puna so the Ganger could mark a worksite. A second hi-rail vehicle (HRV2), following two minutes behind, rounded the curve at about 38 km/h and struck the rear of HRV1 as TW1 was re-entering the cab. TW1 was thrown onto the ballast and injured, and equipment on HRV1 was damaged.

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

On Wednesday, 12 March 1997, at about 1615 hours a roadroller entered State Highway 30 from a side road to cross Bennydale Road level crossing at Mangapehi, and moved onto the level crossing ahead of an approaching train. The level crossing alarms were operating. The driver of the roadroller was killed in the resulting collision. The cause was the driver's apparent failure to see or hear the warning devices. A safety issue identified was the suitability of control procedures for the movement of roadrollers and similar machines over level crossings.

[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.]

At approximately 1115 hours on 25 August 1994 an airmiss occurred between a Boeing 737 airliner on approach to Dunedin Airport and a Cessna 152 operating from Taieri Aerodrome. It was recommended that the vertical and horizontal airspace boundaries to the southwest of Taieri Aerodrome be modified to improve separation between uncontrolled VFR traffic and controlled IFR traffic on approach to Dunedin Airport.

At about 0808 on 7 October 2014, a Robinson R44 helicopter (the helicopter) crashed into steep bush to the northeast of Mt Arthur, in the Kahurangi National Park. The helicopter was being flown from Karamea to Nelson for scheduled maintenance, through an area of forecast high winds and turbulence, at the time of the accident. The helicopter broke up in flight after one of the main rotor blades struck the cabin and the main rotor assembly separated from the rest of the helicopter. The pilot, who was the only occupant, was killed.

On Wednesday, 24 May 1995 at about 0820 hours Q2 Shunt operated by New Zealand Rail Limited was shunting at Gracefield yard. During a propelling movement to attempt to catch and hook onto a moving wagon, the Rail Operator riding on the leading wagon fell under the Shunt and was killed instantly. Causal factors were unauthorised shunting procedures, wagon drawbar condition, limited experience of staff and effectiveness of compliance monitoring. Safety deficiencies addressed in the report are the suitability of and compliance with instructions covering loose shunting.

On Monday 18 November 2002, a hi-rail vehicle overran its track authority from Westmere Intermediate Board to Symes Road Intermediate Board on the Marton-New Plymouth Line and continued a further 28.3 km to Brewer Road Intermediate Board. The operator of the hi-rail vehicle had intended to proceed to Brewer Road but mistakenly made reference to Symes Road when seeking authority from the train controller. There was no conflicting track occupancy between Symes Road Intermediate Board and Brewer Road Intermediate Board. The safety issues identified were:

[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 16 January 2003, at about 1743, the passenger ferry "Harbour Cat" was proceeding from Birkenhead to Auckland with 3 crew and 2 passengers on board when a fire was discovered in the starboard engine space. The crew extinguished the fire and the ferry continued to the Auckland ferry terminal on its port engine alone. One of the crew suffered from slight smoke inhalation. Safety issues identified included: * access to engine rooms on passenger ferries * adequacy of procedure and training of ships’ crew in tackling engine space fires.

On Thursday 13 April 2006 at about 1530, ZK-FMU, a Piper PA 23-250 Aztec, was landed intentionally at Napier Aerodrome with its landing gear retracted. On board were a student pilot and an instructor. Nobody was injured. During a normal circuit, the landing gear selector lever broke when the student attempted to select the landing gear down. The instructor could not reach the remaining segment of the lever to select the landing gear down, and neither of the 2 emergency gear lowering systems would work without the gear being selected down.

The aircraft was involved in an aerial work operation during which two men were suspended on a chain attached to the cargo hook. After the men had hooked on they gave the signal for the pilot to lift them off the ground and proceed with the flight. As the second man to hook on eased the weight on his harness to settle into it more comfortably he fell free from the hook. His fall to the ground was unsurvivable.