Inquiries & Recommendations

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On Monday 4 December 1995 at approximately 2010 hours a shooter fell from a Robinson R22 helicopter, ZK-HDD, during an airborne deer hunting operation 18 km north of Karamea, and sustained fatal injuries. The probable cause of the accident was the opening of the karabiner used on the shooter's harness arrangement, by equipment or clothing, thereby causing him to become unrestrained in the helicopter. The safety issue identified is the need to have a restraint system which incorporates safety features to guard against inadvertent release.

The aircraft was flying from Hamilton to Napier at night in instrument meteorological conditions, and had commenced an instrument approach procedure for Napier. The aircraft collided with a hill. The pilot and two passengers received fatal injuries in the accident.

The crash of this AS350 helicopter on Fox Glacier took the lives of seven people. Issues: Operator’s pilot training system did not fully comply with Civil Aviation rules, did not adequately prepare pilot; and managerial oversight. Lack of intervention allowed operator to continue operating. New TAIC recommendation addresses potential that other operators at that time could have significant non-compliances that were not identified or not resolved.

A Robinson Helicopter Company R22 helicopter was being used to transfer two passengers from Karamea to a remote landing spot in Kahurangi National Park, from where the passengers were to go hunting. On the return flight to Karamea the pilot experienced a vibration and heard an associated noise. During the landing sequence at Karamea, the helicopter broke up in the air and struck the ground. The helicopter was destroyed. Pilot survived, seriously injured.

TAIC report presents rail safety issues with working practices, engineering protections, and safety guidelines - factors that contributed to unintended shunt movement, in Picton. A remote-controlled shunt loco and wagon moved off the end of the quay-to-ferry rail linkspan and into the harbour.

People can make safety-critical errors when they take risks due to focusing too much on completing a job task. Safety-critical tasks should be designed so that it is easy to get the job done safely. TAIC reports on why a worker remote-controlling a shunt locomotive received serious injuries, caught between wagons on board the rail ferry Aratere.

On the first topdressing flight for the day the take-off run was longer than normal due to a blocked injector in the number 8 cylinder. During the take-off the right wing passed through a six foot tall hedge of dense thistles which bordered the downsloping airstrip for the lowest third of its length. The thistles had not been present when the pilot operated from the airstrip previously. Thistles became entrained between the wingtip and the aerodynamic balance horn, deflecting and jamming the ailerons, causing the aircraft to roll uncontrollably to the right.

On 5 November 1994 ZK-EFO was being used to top-dress a farm near Kaikohe Aerodrome. During a turn the aircraft stalled and collided with the hillside.

At approximately 1100 hours on Wednesday 7 June 1995 a Fletcher FU24A-954, ZK-EMU, collided with the face of a hill during a sowing run and caught fire. The aircraft was destroyed, and the pilot lost his life in the accident. Pilot incapacitation was the probable cause of this accident. The incapacitation was sufficient to cause loss of situational awareness and loss of aircraft control at a critical phase of flight. No safety issues were identified as a result of this investigation.

On Tuesday 14 October 1997, at about 0815 hours a 3.7 m log fell from a wagon forming part of Train C25, a Kinleith to Mount Maunganui log train, as it passed through Tokoroa. The log cartwheeled for 38 m, cleared a 1.8 m high fence and came to rest on a trampoline in a residential property.

At about 1040 hours, on Saturday 24 August 1996, at the conclusion of a local flight, Jodel D11 ZK-EJP made an approach and go-around over the farm airstrip where it was based. The aircraft subsequently flew downward at a lower height than usual and was seen to bank steeply to the left in an apparent attempt to land on the airstrip or in adjacent paddocks. It levelled momentarily then rolled to the right, descended rapidly, and struck the hillside. The pilot sustained fatal injuries on impact.

An engine failure, and subsequent forced landing, occurred to an Aerospatiale AS 350D helicopter during a scenic flight over the Fox Glacier on 17 March 1993. The safety issues discussed in the report are related to the promulgation and implementation of manufacturer's Service Letters and the inspection of unmodified fuel pump assemblies.