Cessna 172N, ZK-JES, ditched in Cable Bay, between Kerikeri and Cape Reinga, 15 December 2004
Status
Closed
Occurrence Date
Report Publication Date
Jurisdiction
NZ
Legacy Inquiry Number
04-008
On Wednesday 15 December 2004 at about 1450, ZK-JES, a Cessna 172, on a flight from Kerikeri to Waitiki Airstrip, ditched in Cable Bay when the pilot could no longer continue flying visually, because of the weather conditions. One of the 2 passengers drowned, and the other passenger and the pilot were seriously injured.
The pilot was inadvertently caught in rapidly deteriorating weather conditions with low cloud, mist and poor visibility. The deterioration was brought about by a fast moving frontal system, which quickly lowered the ambient air temperature to that of the unusually high dew point temperature. The rapid deterioration removed the pilot’s options of diverting to his alternate aerodrome or returning to his departure aerodrome. Because he could not land on a nearby beach the pilot had no option but to ditch.
A safety recommendation was made to the operator about making full use of all available meteorological information.
The pilot was inadvertently caught in rapidly deteriorating weather conditions with low cloud, mist and poor visibility. The deterioration was brought about by a fast moving frontal system, which quickly lowered the ambient air temperature to that of the unusually high dew point temperature. The rapid deterioration removed the pilot’s options of diverting to his alternate aerodrome or returning to his departure aerodrome. Because he could not land on a nearby beach the pilot had no option but to ditch.
A safety recommendation was made to the operator about making full use of all available meteorological information.
Location
Cable Bay (-34.989609,173.484678) [may be approximate]