Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand
21 July 2006
MEDIA RELEASE
For further information contact:
Bill Sommer
Tel: 04-560 9411 or
027-546 8216
The accident report can be viewed on the CAA web site, www.caa.govt.nz, under Accidents & incidents - Fatal accident reports - 05/2471 ZK-FGS, Waipara River, or use this link:
http://www.caa.govt.nz/Accident_Reports/ZK-FGS_Fatal_07Aug2005.pdf
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Blatant disregard of rules, pushing on in bad weather, and poor in-flight decisions a lethal combination
Fatal Accident Report: ZK-FGS, Waipara River Mouth, 7 August 2005
A Civil Aviation Authority safety investigation has concluded that a Cessna 182R aircraft, ZK-FGS, crashed into the sea off the Waipara River Mouth, when the pilot lost control of the aircraft, probably while spatially disorientated in poor weather conditions, at an altitude lower than that required to permit a successful recovery. Both the pilot and his wife were killed in the crash.
"This was clearly an avoidable fatal accident," said Director of Civil Aviation John Jones, in releasing the accident report. "Pushing on in poor weather conditions, blatant disregard of the most basic of Civil Aviation Rules, and poor in-flight decision making were obvious contributing factors in this aircraft crash. And while in this case there was no chance of surviving the crash, the lack of a flight plan or any form of flight following meant that search and rescue efforts were very late in starting."
The pilot and his wife were on the final leg of a trip which had taken several days.
On the afternoon of Sunday, 7 August 2005, the aircraft departed from Nelson for the flight to the pilot's private airstrip at Aylesbury, approximately 18 km to the west of Christchurch.
During the evening on the day of the accident the pilot's neighbour realised that ZK-FGS had not returned as expected. The following morning he alerted the emergency services.
At about the same time that a search was being commenced two bodies and fragments of aircraft wreckage were discovered on the shoreline near the Amberley Beach golf course. The bodies were subsequently identified as the occupants of ZK-FGS.
The portable Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite receiver carried in ZK-FGS, and used by the pilot to navigate and record track data, was found on the shoreline four days after the accident by a member of the public. The receiver was sent to the manufacturer in the United States where the electronic data was retrieved from it. This data revealed detailed information about the final flight.
On the morning of 7 August 2005, the pilot requested and was provided with weather forecasts and actual weather conditions for Nelson, Woodbourne, and Christchurch aerodromes.
While the forecast weather conditions were satisfactory for the pilot's planned flight from Wanganui through the Nelson and Woodbourne areas, the weather information for the Christchurch area indicated that the weather would be marginal for a flight conducted under visual flight rules.
After the initial request for weather information, the pilot did not seek any updated weather information, either while on the ground at Nelson, or when airborne. Had he done so, it would have been clear to him that the conditions were deteriorating as he progressed toward Christchurch.
At the time of the accident, a bank of low cloud and fog existed along the coast in the area of the Waipara River mouth, extending out to sea. The cloud also extended inland by approximately one or two kilometres.
When confronted with the lowering cloud base and reducing visibility south of Motunau Island, it appears that the pilot elected to press on into the deteriorating weather conditions, rather than turn back. In a probable attempt to fly under the cloud, he ended up flying well below the minimum safe altitude of 500 ft above mean sea level prescribed by Civil Aviation Rules.
While the aircraft was equipped with the instruments required for flight in instrument meteorological conditions, the pilot was not qualified to fly in such weather conditions since he did not hold an instrument rating. Civil Aviation Rules require a pilot who is not instrument rated to ensure that any flight undertaken is flown under visual flight rules.
The accident report concluded that while performing a climbing turn, in poor weather, with little or no external visual reference, the pilot probably suffered a type of sensory illusion called 'spatial disorientation', lost control of the aircraft at low level and crashed into the sea.
The accident report also concluded that while the aeroplane had a valid Airworthiness Certificate and had been maintained in accordance with the rules currently in force, the pilot was not appropriately licensed for the flight, as his medical certificate had recently expired.
"Civil Aviation Rules are there for obvious reasons to reduce risks and ensure necessary levels of safety," said John Jones. "Taking risks by consciously flying below clearly defined minimum altitude and visibility standards, and pushing on in bad weather are a lethal combination and in this case lead to an avoidable aircraft crash and the tragic death of two people."
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