Executive summary
At 1627 hours on Monday 29 January 1996, ZK-SFA a Cessna 208 Caravan, collided with heavily wooded terrain on the eastern slopes of Mount Robertson, 10 nm north-east of Blenheim. The aircraft had departed from Wellington on a scheduled flight to Picton Aerodrome (Koromiko). The five passengers lost their lives in the accident, but the pilot survived.
Causal factors identified were: descent under a cloud layer; misidentification of terrain features; loss of "positional awareness"; insufficient forward visibility; the high speed of the aircraft; and the pilot's decision making.
Safety issues identified included: the need to develop company operating procedures that ensure aircraft do not stray into high terrain; taking the necessary steps to ensure pilots use all the available resources for accurate navigation under VFR; and the documenting of recommended airspeeds and aircraft configuration for VFR flight with reduced visibility.
Three safety recommendations were made to the operating company.
Related Recommendations
Document, in the appropriate manuals, the airspeeds and aircraft configuration recommended for VFR flight in conditions of reduced visibility.
Take the necessary steps to ensure that company pilots operating under VFR use all the resources available to them for accurate navigation.
Develop operating procedures that ensure pilots, when operating under VFR, do not inadvertently cross the coastline north of Rarangi when flying to Picton Aerodrome from Wellington, in southerly conditions with/or reduced visibility. These procedures to be included in the company Operations Manual.