Inquiries & Recommendations

Ngā ketuketutanga me ngā tūtohunga

An airmiss occurred involving a formation of RNZAF Skyhawk aircraft and an Embraer 110 Bandeirante aircraft during Air Expo 92 at Auckland International Airport on 21 November 1992.

ZK-PTS was on a private flight from Hastings to Ardmore via Hamilton, in company with another aircraft of the same type. The weather between Hawkes Bay and Taupo was overcast with a variable base, and scattered rain showers. Northwest of Napier the pilots found their intended route obscured by rain shower. The pilot of ZK-PTS declared his intention to climb above the cloud while his colleague elected to continue circling awaiting an improvement in the weather. The pilot of ZK-PTS subsequently reported his position at 5800 feet on the 283 radial from Napier and climbing.

This report relates to a loss of control due to the ingestion of a foreign object by the rotor of Westland Wasp NZ3094 at Taupo Aerodrome on 20 November 1992. The safety issues discussed in the report are the improvement of facilities and inspections at Taupo Airport to enhance the safety of helicopter operations. Certification of Aerodromes by the Civil Aviation Authority, CAA advice to aerodrome operators, the promulgation of information on legislation relating to civil aerodromes to military pilots and the inspection of civil aerodromes by military flight safety teams.

The historic fighter aircraft was being flown from Wanaka to Auckland to take part in an Air Display. A brief landing was planned at Woodbourne to refuel. The pilot made a standard approach to grass runway 07 with allowance for the light crosswind. Shortly after a normal touchdown, an unexpected gust caused a swing to the right. Braking action was uneffective on the wet grass and the pilot applied power for a go-around, but the aircraft slid sideways and the left undercarriage collapsed at the edge of the asphalt taxiway which crossed the grass runway at right angles.

ZK-KID, a high performance homebuilt design, was owned and operated by the pilot who had constructed the aircraft himself. He had flown to Alexandra to attend a Chapter meeting of the NZ Amateur Aircraft Constructors Association. A "mini-competition" was held to round off the afternoon's activities. Part of the set exercises involved flying a figure eight pattern at 500 feet above aerodrome level. During the second half of this manoeuvre ZK-KID was observed to lose height while turning from a downwind heading to crosswind at a steep angle of bank.

The aircraft, with one passenger on board, had landed at Wellington Airport at the conclusion of a scheduled flight from Koromiko Aerodrome. While taxing from the runway to the terminal the aircraft was blown over by a strong wind gust, coming to rest inverted. The pilot and passenger were uninjured. A northwesterly gust of 42 knots was recorded at about the time of the mishap.

The pilot hired the two seat aircraft for a local flight with the intention of flying over Glenbrook where his passenger lived. A number of witnesses saw the aircraft flying in the area at a moderately low height and circling around. It particularly attracted attention when the engine sound was heard to change, described variously as throttled back, or stopping briefly, then increasing. The aircraft was seen to turn left from a southerly heading toward the north-east. It then went suddenly into a very steep dive while turning or twisting to the left.

The helicopter was departing for the first heliski trip of the day with a guide and four clients on board. It had reached a height of about 200 feet, and airspeed was increasing above 35 knots, when the engine failed. The pilot lowered collective, maintained forward speed and set up an autorotative descent to the large snow covered paddock below. The helicopter contacted the ground heavily, collapsing the skids, and slid some 60m in the soft snow before coming to rest upright. The occupants were uninjured.

The helicopter was engaged in an aerial survey of Central Electric's distribution system. The pilot and technician conducting the survey, which utilised GPS equipment to pinpoint individual power pole positions, were accompanied by a line surveyor from the local electrical supply authority who acted as a guide and supplementary lookout. During the course of mapping a roadside 11kV line, the helicopter collided with the Roxburgh-Islington A 220kV line. The reactive forces of the rotor strike tore the transmission and engine from the airframe.

ZK-CVG was on a positioning flight from Mount Cook to Fox Glacier in order to conduct some scenic flights, while ZK-HEA was on a local scenic flight from Fox Glacier when a collision occurred. ZK-HEA was landed safely but ZK-CVG descended out of control to the riverbed. The pilot was killed in the ground impact.

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.

An Air New Zealand B737 was on final approach to runway 16, at Wellington Airport when a Piper PA38 Tomahawk was cleared to cross from Wellington City to Petone, maintaining visual separation. The aircraft converged until a loss of separation occurred. Both aircraft were flying in visual meteorological conditions (VMC). The pilot of the Tomahawk attempted to take evasive action. The aircraft passed in opposite directions with about 350 m between them. None of the 68 persons on board the aircraft were injured.