Opening an inquiry

How we hear about accidents and incidents

Each transport mode (aviation, maritime, rail) has laws requiring specified people — such as drivers or operators — to notify the regulator (Civil Aviation Authority, Maritime New Zealand, or NZ Transport Agency). The regulator then informs TAIC. We often seek further information before deciding whether to open an inquiry. We will then inform the regulator of our decision. 

We may also hear of events through the media, direct contact, or from overseas investigation agencies. International counterparts may invite us to join their inquiries if a New Zealand-operated or manufactured vehicle is involved, or if many New Zealanders were affected. And while the Minister of Transport can direct us to open an inquiry, the Commission’s formal independence means the Minister can have no role in how we conduct it.

Each year we can receive more than a thousand notifications, but we usually only open between twelve to eighteen inquiries. 

Military and road accidents are outside our scope unless they involve civilian aviation, maritime, or rail transport.

Deciding to investigate

A duty investigator is available 24/7 for urgent notifications. The Chief Investigator of Accidents has delegated authority to open inquiries on behalf of the Commission. Commissioners review all notifications monthly.

When an inquiry is opened, the Chief Investigator appoints an investigator-in-charge and we assemble a team. We notify relevant parties, which may include emergency services, the operator, the Coroner, WorkSafe, the regulator, Ministers, the Ministry of Transport, and overseas peer agencies. Foreign states may participate if their registered aircraft or ships are involved, if the components were manufactured there, or if many of their citizens died or were seriously injured.

We publish a summary of each new inquiry on our website as soon as possible. For higher-profile events, we may also issue news items or media statements.

Opening criteria considered

Circumstances influencing a decision to open an inquiry

There is no strict formula for deciding whether the circumstances involve significant implications for transport safety or that findings or recommendations to improve transport safety could result. We take into account numerous factors including:

• Number of people (actual or potential) killed or seriously injured
• Vehicle capacity – for passengers, freight, or pollutants
• Whether dangerous goods are involved
• Extent of vehicle damage
• Interfaces, such as traffic control, regulatory action, policy, or shared service provision
• Environmental, economic or social impact beyond those immediately involved
• Safety issues raised before
• Whether regulatory, health & safety, or coronial investigation would satisfy safety interests
• Anything else that may be relevant to the particular occurrence

International considerations

The Commission’s legal framework and working practices align with international obligations and standards for air and maritime transport. These obligations influence our decisions on opening inquiries. We may also support an international peer agency’s inquiry if asked, or if a New Zealand connection gives us a right or duty to participate.

Aviation

Annex 13 to the International Convention on Civil Aviation says:

• A member state ‘shall’ investigate an accident when: a person is fatally or seriously injured as a result of being in an aircraft or comes into contact with any part of the aircraft (including parts which have become detached from the aircraft), or as a direct exposure to jet blast; and/or when the aircraft sustains damage or structural failure which adversely affects the structural strength, performance or flight characteristics of the aircraft and would normally require major repair or replacement of the affected components.
• The member state ‘should’ investigate a serious incident involving: near collisions; take-offs, aborted take-offs or attempted landings on closed or engaged runways; fires; smoke; use of emergency oxygen by flight crew; structural failures; engine disintegration; crew incapacitation in flight; fuel emergency; runway undershoots and overshoots; system failures; weather; operations outside approved envelopes; or failure of more than one system in a redundancy system mandatory for flight guidance and navigation.

Maritime

Under the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) casualty code, a member state:

• ‘shall’ investigate every ‘very serious marine casualty’ (total loss of a ship, or a death, or severe environmental damage).
• ‘should’ investigate if it would likely help prevent future marine casualties and incidents.

Other factors

Finally, we consider whether the circumstances relate to an item on the TAIC Watchlist as well as any current notification trends.

Sometimes we ask a regulator to keep us in touch with their investigation into an event in case new information comes up that would cause us to open an investigation of our own.