Inquiries & Recommendations

Ngā ketuketutanga me ngā tūtohunga

On the evening of Friday 27 January 2023, Boeing 777-319ER ZK-OKN was returning to land at Auckland, having flown from Auckland to Melbourne earlier that day. As the aeroplane neared the runway it began to drift right of the runway centreline. Soon after touchdown it veered off the runway onto a sealed shoulder.

New Zealand has completed its support for this inquiry. Please note, TAIC will not be producing a report for this inquiry.

At 0707 on 10 January 2023, a hi-rail vehicle (HRV1) stopped on a curve near Te Puna so the Ganger could mark a worksite. A second hi-rail vehicle (HRV2), following two minutes behind, rounded the curve at about 38 km/h and struck the rear of HRV1 as TW1 was re-entering the cab. TW1 was thrown onto the ballast and injured, and equipment on HRV1 was damaged.

The New Zealand Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC) assisted an Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) investigation into a mid-air collision near Main Beach, Gold Coast, Queensland, on 2 January 2023.

At Queenstown Airport two helicopters came into potential conflict due to contrasting mental models, confusion over who is doing what, congested airspace.

On 12 December 2022 the Danish seine fishing vessel Boy Roel was fishing in the Bay of Plenty. While a net was being hauled from the seabed, the skipper climbed over the top of a winch to access the wheelhouse. The skipper’s leg became caught and was drawn into the rope that was hauling in the net as the rope wound around the winch drum.

At about 1435 on 7 December 2022, a train collided with a truck and trailer at the Fertilizer Road level crossing near Whangārei. The impact derailed the train’s refuge wagon and toppled the trailer, injuring the rail operator, while the locomotive engineer and the truck’s occupants were unhurt.

TAIC opened an inquiry for administrative purposes to assist as an Accredited Representative under ICAO Annex 13 provisions for an overseas counterpart’s investigation into a fatal Robinson R22 helicopter accident in the Northern Territory’s East Arnhem Land.

ATSB asked for New Zealand’s assistance into a collision with terrain accident involving a Robinson R22 Beta helicopter, about 42 nautical miles from Cunderdin Aerodrome on 2 October 2022. The pilot and passenger sustained fatal injuries and the helicopter was destroyed.

The i-Catcher, an 8-metre aluminium charter vessel operated by Fish Kaikoura, departed South Bay on 10 September 2022 with 11 people onboard for a photography charter. At about 1005, while returning from Goose Bay, the vessel experienced a sudden impact beneath the hull and rapidly capsized. Six occupants managed to escape onto the upturned hull and raise the alarm, prompting a major search and rescue response. Despite the rescue efforts, only six people survived; the remaining five passengers were later found deceased in a petrol-contaminated air pocket beneath the vessel.

TAIC supported a preliminary investigation by the Isle of Man into a missing-person incident aboard the Isle of Man-registered bulk carrier Berge Rishiri. The crew member was last seen at 0800 on 29 August 2022 after completing duty in the engine room and failed to report for their next shift at 1600, prompting an onboard search assisted by another vessel and a rescue helicopter. The ship was outside New Zealand’s 12-nautical-mile limit, so New Zealand is gathering evidence on behalf of the flag state under the IMO Casualty Investigation Code.

Report into near-miss between bus and train in Christchurch recommends KiwiRail work with road controlling authorities to improve risk management for unplanned disconnections of level-crossing protections. KiwiRail disconnected the Selwyn Street level crossing when a fault could not be repaired on the day it was identified. There was no traffic management in place because KiwiRail hadn’t told council that due to an unplanned disconnection, the signals were not working.