A helicopter crashed into the Fox Glacier in New Zealand on November 21.
The authorities said the Eurocopter “Squirrel” helicopter, operated by Alpine Adventures, was carrying six passengers and a pilot when it went down.
Everyone aboard was killed in the crash. The deceased include the pilot Mitch Gameren, 28, of New Zealand, four British tourists, two Australians and a New Zealander.
The cause of crash is being investigated.
A Kitfox plane crashed near Balclutha Aerodrome, New Zealand, on the afternoon of July 25.
The pilots noticed some engine trouble right after taking-off and decided to attempt an emergency landing, however, the plane crashed near the runway.
The plane’s owner, 46, who was a trainee, was flying the plane along with his flight instructor, 48.
Both men aboard sustained injuries and were airlifted to Dunedin Public Hospital.
New Zealand’s Civil Aviation Authority and the police will investigate.
An Air New Zealand flight had to make an emergency landing at Tauranga Airport, New Zealand, on May 3.
It is believed that emergency was declared due to a fault in a landing light.
Firefighters were called as a precaution, however, the Bombardier Q300 airplane landed safely.
The scheduled destination of flight and the number of people onboard is not known at the moment.
A Hughes 500E helicopter crashed on Koatanui Rd in Brunswick, northwest of Wanganui, New Zealand, at around 9:30 a.m. on October 28.
The helicopter was being used to spray farmland near the State Highway 3 at Kai Iwi, when it crashed.
The pilot of the helicopter, identified as Peter William Robb, 56, was killed at the scene. According to the executive officer of the New Zealand Helicopter Association, John Sinclair, he was a “very experienced pilot, well-respected in the industry”.
The CAA is investigating the cause of crash.
A small plane made an emergency landing on the Muriwai Golf Course near Auckland, New Zealand, before 5:25 p.m. on August 18.
The pilot decided to make an emergency landing after his light plane ran out of fuel. Fire Service spokesman Michael Upton explained, “We got calls from residents who heard the plane spluttering away, or its engine failing, and saw the aircraft go down on the golf course.”
The plane landed uneventfully and no one on-board was hurt.
A heli-ski helicopter crashed on Mount Alta near Wanaka, New Zealand, at around 12:20 p.m. on August 16.
The accident happened when the helicopter run by Harris Mountain Heli-Ski was carrying 7 people, including a pilot, a ski guide and 5 skiers. All of them were New Zealanders.
One of the heli-skiers died while all others aboard suffered injuries of varied degrees. Two of the injured with minor injuries were taken to Wanaka Medical Centre. Four with comparatively serious injuries were transported to Dunedin Hospital.
Skyline Enterprises Chairman Mark Quickfall said, “I spoke to one of our senior pilots who was first on the scene. As he said to me, it’s a perfect day for flying and heli-skiing. Certainly not windy. So [we] can’t put any light on it at this stage.” He also said there were six other helicopters out heli-skiing on the same day.
The Civil Aviation Authority and Transport Accident Investigation Commission are investigating the cause of the crash.
A light aircraft crashed in a paddock around 3.5 km east of the aerodrome at the Ardmore Airport, Auckland, New Zealand, on June 29.
The incident happened just before 1:45 p.m., after the engine of the Airline Flying Club Cessna 152 failed. The aircraft was severely damaged after it skidded 200 meters across the paddock into a drain, and ended up on its roof.
The female pilot, who was just in her 20s, and her female student suffered minor injuries. Both of them were taken to Middlemore Hospital by ambulance.
Phil Welcome, the chief flying instructor at Airline Flying Club, appreciated the skill of the newly recruited pilot and said “It looks like she’s done an excellent job, and the only problem is at the end of her take-off run she’s encountered a drainage ditch.”
Welcome said a team of engineers would check the aircraft to find out the cause of the engine failure. He said “In these airplanes, engine failure is actually very, very rare.”
Senior Sergeant Ian Brenchley responded at the scene and started investigation on behalf of the Civil Aviation Authority.
A plane landed safely in Christchurch, New Zealand, after emergency landing protocol was deployed at the airport.
The plane, belonging to Air Nelson, a subsidiary of Air New Zealand, was on its way from Invercargill and Christchurch when the pilot discovered a potential problem with landing gear. He then alerted the authorities at Christchurch Airport that the plane may have to make an emergency landing.
However, the plane landed safely and no emergency assistance was required.
A spokesperson of Air New Zealand confirmed the incident and said, “Air Nelson flight NZ8078, operating between Invercargill and Christchurch with 48 passengers on board, landed without incident this morning after a cockpit warning indicator suggested a possible landing gear issue on approach to Christchurch.”
The aircraft is currently being examined.
The recent single engine Tomahawk PA38 crash in Hastings killed 46 year old Christopher Howell and 48 year old Christopher Rawlings.
Rawlings, hailing from the Clive in the Hawke’s Bay region, was an instructor at the Hawk’s Bay and East Coast Aero Club.
Howell, a fully qualified and trained pilot from UK, was flying the plane when it bursted into flames mid-air. According to Bruce Govenlock, president of Hawk’s Bay and East Coast Aero Club, Howell wanted to acquire a New Zealand license for getting employment there. He also had to appear for pilot’s validation exam later in the day.
Govenlock also said that the last radio transmission from the plane did not show any sign of trouble. The Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand is investigating the crash.
The post is an update of “Tomahawk PA38 Crashed in Hastings, 2 Dead“
A Hawkes Bay and East Coast Aero Club-owned Tomahawk PA38 plane crashed at the riverbed near Maraekakaho, 12km past the aerodrome, in Hastings, NZ.
The incident happened at about 11 am on March 23, 2014. Bruce Govenlock, president of the Club said it was too early to determine the cause of crash; it could be engine failure or a mechanical problem. The weather was fine and the 30-year-old aircraft was very well maintained.
The eye-witnesses heard the engine of the plane making strange sounds before the crash; one of them described it as “coughing and spluttering.”
Those killed in the crash included an experienced club instructor and a visitor from the UK who was preparing for his pilot’s license validation exam.
The fully qualified pilot from the UK had been flying the single engine plane for half an hour before the crash. He took off from Bridge Pa Aerodrome for practice.
A helicopter owned by Gisborne Helicopters crashed in Hawkes Bay at around 10:00 a.m. at a logging skid site on Paritu Road, Wharerata, in Gisborne, New Zealand.
A 53-year-old Gisborne passenger was killed. The pilot had leg injuries, but is in stable condition. The helicopter was delivering supplies.
Civil Aviation Authority is investigating. Various eye witnesses saw the event. Fire fighters, ambulance and police immediately reached at the scene.
On January 10, 2013, a Jabiru J200 ultralight piloted Dennis Horn and co-pilot Manfred Scherbius made a successful emergency landing on the beach crashed on takeoff when it stuck the water. The accident occurred on Martins Bay beach, near Warkworth New Zealand. Nobody on the beach was injure, which is a feat, because the beach was crowded with people in a sandcastle competition. On the takeoff attempt, a wing and propeller broke. The pilot and co-pilot walked away from the incident.
On October 28,at 3;20 pm, a Mayday was declared when a Helicopter Line Aerospatiale AS 355 Ecureuil was landing and crashed into another of its own helicopters which had landed during a scenic tours.
There were seven people aboard at the time of the landing. The pilot, his six passengers and five passengers from the helicopter that was struck were all injured.
The pilot was landing near Tyndall Glacier in Mt Aspiring National Park.
Twelve injured were taken to Queenstown airport, including the pilot, who was later transferred to Dunedin Hospital.
On Oct 24, 2013, a Rebel Ag PZL M-18A Dromader was engaged in firefighting over Ulladulla, NSW when the pilot crashed. The PZL-Mielec M-18 Dromader is a single engine vehicle manufactured by PZL-Mielec in Poland, often used as a firefighting machine.
David Black, 43, from Trangie in central NSW, was water bombing the fire when his plane crashed in rugged bushland. The fire and forested terrain is making response difficult. After giving his life trying to control the fire raging near Ulladulla, New South Wales, David Black is being hailed as a hero.
Whether pilot error, rustic conditions, or mechanical error, the cause of the crash has not been determined.
Fires are still burning in the area.
The accident is being investigated by the ATSB and the investigation #AO-2013-187 has been assigned.
On landing on Oct 24, 2013 at Hamilton Airport, a training flight in a Waikato Aero Club Tecnam P2008 struck a parked Cessna 172. The twenty-five year old student pilot, parked vehicle and training vehicle all suffered injury. The parked Cessna sustained the most damage.
Witnesses say that the pilot managed to get the plane under control as he was landing, reducing the severity of the incident. Impact occurred at low speed.
The plane came down hard, damaging the Tecnam’s undercarriage, and the pilot’s nose and back. The pilot is suffering from shock.
This is the first incident in the year old plane the student was flying. He was hospitalized at Waikato Hospital.
A Fiji Airways Boeing 737-700 was en route from Auckland to Suva when an engine developed issues.
Pilots returned to Auckland International Airport where they made a safe landing with emergency services including fourteen fire engines on standby.
After landing, the plane was escorted by half a dozen fire engines. No fire was found on the plane.
Passengers were provided alternative transportation. None of the 122 passengers or six crew were injured.
On Feb 24, 2013, a Volcanic Air Safaris Ltd Robinson R44 Raven II made an emergency upright landing on skids near the end of Bennetts Rd, Koutu, not long after lifting off from Lake Rotorua New Zealand.
The female pilot and three passengers escaped the helicopter 60 metres from the shore in knee deep water. A boat went to the helicopter’s aide about 10.10.
The passengers were a man and his two children. There were no injuries.
The chopper had suffered mechanical problems.
On Jan 30, 2012, a Micro Aviation Bantam B22S that took off from Westport Airport with two aboard went missing Wednesday. The plane was found on Jan 31, 2013 at 9:30 a.m. on Carters Beach, near Westport. The two local men aged 58 and 25, who were aboard did not survive.
The bodies of the two men aboard were found beside the plane.
A dense sea fog descended at 9 pm when the plane had been aloft and may have been instrumental in the cause of the accident. Locals heard two loud bangs but don’t know if the sound was connected to the accident. The wreckage is not far from the airport.
Peter Ashby father of the crash victim Cole, 25, found the wreckage of the plane carrying his son and pilot Roger Smith, 58. Cole was found dead about a kilometre away, swept away by the tide.
Cole was a machine operator at Stockton opencast mine who enjoyed “motocross, snowboarding, wakeboarding, skiing, drift cars.”
The accident is under investigation.
What: Ravensdown Aerowork light plane
Where: Taranaki NZ
When: Dec 11, 2012
Who: 1 aboard
Why: A light plane was engaged in fertiliser spreading and agricultural spraying for Wanganui Aero Work company. (Wanganui was acquired by Ravensdown Aerowork in 2004 but the plane had not been provided new colors.)
The plane went down near Waitaanga Rd.
The Rescue Co-ordination Centre heard the beacon at 5.38 p.m.
The pilot was tended by paramedics then hospitalized at Waikato Hospital.
The sixty year old pilot sustained serious spinal injuries.
What: WW2-era Spitfire
Where: Whanganui Airport
When: Sept 29, 2012 6:15 pm
Who: pilot
Why: When his landing gear failed, the pilot of a WW2-era Spitfire (replica) circled the airport for half an hour then made a forced belly landing on grass at Whanganui Airport in New Zealand. The plane sustained some damage. THe pilot did not.
What: Air New Zealand Boeing 767 en route from Honolulu to Auckland
Where: Auckland
When: August 5, 2012
Who: 230 passengers
Why: When the landing gear light (which should indicate landing gear are in place) did not come on during approach, the pilot told Auckland ATC, and performed a flyby confirming the gear were down. The pilot went on to make a safe landing.
National carrier Air New Zealand canceled or delayed domestic flights due to Mount Tongariro Volcano ash on Monday night.
Gisborne, Rotorua, Taupo and Palmerston North May be affected.
The aviation colour code around Mt Tongariro was downgraded from red to orange, but the volcanic alert level remains. The plume from the eruption last night was steam-driven and 7000 m high. The colour code is used to alert aviation carriers to volcanic activity.
What: Zenair CH 601 UL Zodiac microlight en route from Ohakea to Dargaville
Where: South Head, Kaipara NZ
When: April 1, 2012
Who: 2 aboard, 2 fatalities
Why: The microlight crashed in a field in South Head, Kaipara, NZ after sending a distress call at 1 pm. The flight went missing at 1, and was found before 7 when weather delayed the recovery of the bodies.
The owner of the field (on Fuller Rd in South Head, about 31km north of Helensville) contacted authorities after finding the microlight wreckage around two. The medic who arrived by chopper found both passengers deceased. The cockpit was crushed, and the tail shattered. There was no fire. Officials are investigating but the names of the victims have not been released.
What: Yakovlev Yak-52TW
Where: Feilding, New Zealand
When: Jan 23 2012 10:45 a.m.
Who: 2 fatalities
Why: A plane left Taonui Aerodrome and twenty-five minutes later was engaging in acrobatics,when it flew upside down, made a loop and then crash dived on to the grounds of the Timona Recreational Reserve.
The plane shattered into a mangled mess in the Timona Park area park area. Witnesses heard a single crash. Disaster Victim Identification team is investigating.
The two men in the crash are well known, Dr Ralph Saxe, of Palmerston North, and Dr Brett Ireland, of Queensland. Dr Saxe co-owned the plane that crashed.
