Executive summary
On Friday 3 January 1997, at 1357 hours, Cessna 310Q aeroplane ZK-KIM, on a private flight to Ardmore, was turning after take-off from Queenstown when it entered a spin or spiral dive which led to a collision with the ground. The pilot and all five passengers were killed.
The position of the Remarkables Range, in relation to runway 14, restricted the space available and precluded a normal visual horizon reference for the pilot during the turn.
Inadvertent mishandling of the aircraft by the pilot probably resulted from his inexperience and lack of mountain flying skills. Misloading could have adversely affected the handling qualities of the aircraft.
Related Recommendations
Advise flight training organisations that they should actively teach pilots to recognise when they should decline an Air Traffic Control clearance, and how to request an alternative clearance.
Include mountain flying in the training syllabus for Private Pilot and Commercial Pilot Licences (Aeroplane), as is the case for helicopter licences. [Repeated as part of SR 023/02 (investigation 02-001) on 19 July 02.]
Amend the NZAIP-VFG to include information that the space available for the runway 14 circuit at Queenstown is limited and that visual reference problems may be encountered as a result of the position of the Remarkable Range.