Date: | Monday 29 January 1996 |
Time: | 16:27 |
Type: | Cessna 208 Caravan I |
Owner/operator: | Sounds Air |
Registration: | ZK-SFA |
MSN: | 20800051 |
Year of manufacture: | 1985 |
Total airframe hrs: | 9515 hours |
Engine model: | Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-114 |
Fatalities: | Fatalities: 5 / Occupants: 6 |
Aircraft damage: | Destroyed, written off |
Category: | Accident |
Location: | 18 km NE of Blenheim -
New Zealand
|
Phase: | En route |
Nature: | Passenger - Scheduled |
Departure airport: | Wellington International Airport (WLG/NZWN) |
Destination airport: | Picton-Koromiko Airport (PCN/NZOK) |
Investigating agency: | TAIC |
Confidence Rating: | Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
Narrative:The Cessna departed Wellington (WLG) for a VFR flight at 2000 feet to Koromiko (PCN). While descending for Koromiko Airport the aircraft entered an area of clouds and flew into the heavily wooded eastern slope of Mount Robertson at 1400 feet (430 m) amsl.
Causal factors:
- The decision by the pilot to descend beneath the cloud layer.
- Illusions, created by the conditions, producing misleading visual references.
- The pilot's misidentification of distant terrain features.
- An undetected heading error, and loss of "positional awareness".
- Insufficient forward visibility, during the later stages of the descent.
- The high speed of the aircraft.
- The decision making by the pilot: the delayed decision to descend beneath the cloud layer; continued flight into deteriorating conditions.
Contributing / influencing factors:
- The pilot's familiarity with the area, creating a false sense of security.
- Improved general weather conditions, causing the pilot to relax.
- A possible false horizon, created by a sloping cloud base.
- The absence of documented procedures to ensure pilots crossed the coast south of Rarangi.
Accident investigation:
|
| |
Investigating agency: | TAIC |
Report number: | 96-006 |
Status: | Investigation completed |
Duration: | 4 months |
Download report: | Final report |
|
Sources:
TAIC Investigation 96-006
Location
Images:
photo (c) Peter Lewis; Wellington International Airport (WLG/NZWN)
Revision history:
Date/time | Contributor | Updates |