The Civil Aviation Authority has recommended urgent checks of all hot air balloons in New Zealand after an inquiry revealed possible air worthiness problems.
“The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has launched an urgent inquiry following “serious” findings of a report into the Carterton balloon tragedy.
The balloon, which crashed in Carterton on January 7 killing 11 all people on board, might not have been airworthy, investigators found.
The Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC) has released preliminary findings showing several maintenance requirements were not followed by those operating the balloon, including procedures for inspecting the balloon’s burners and fuel system, and a “grab test” to test the strength of the balloon material.
As a result TAIC has recommended that Civil Aviation make an urgent check of New Zealand’s 74 hot air balloons to test for airworthiness…” read the full article here
Our thoughts are with the families and friends of those who died, this must be a very difficult time for them.
Until all hot air balloons in New Zealand have been checked to ensure they meet maintenance requirements our recommendation is to postpone or cancel your ballooning experience.
If the transport Accident Investigation Commission chief commissioner John Marshall, QC wouldn’t get into a balloon whose maintenance requirements hadn’t been met, why would you?
The CAA said it had launched an investigation into the maintenance of hot air balloons in the wake of the TAIC report.
“The apparent breaches of the manufacturer’s procedures and the civil aviation rules are obviously sufficiently serious for us to make a recommendation,” Marshall said.
If he was a passenger and knew about the breaches, he would not have been willing to continue the flight.
“If I had known as a person about to get into a balloon that maintenance requirements had not been complied with, obviously, personally, I wouldn’t get into that balloon.”
Earlier, acting director of Civil Aviation John Lanham said the findings of the report were very serious.
Find a safer way to enjoy New Zealand, and never assume that the safety standards that apply in your own country also apply there.
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has launched an urgent inquiry following “serious” findings of a report into the Carterton balloon tragedy.
The balloon, which crashed in Carterton on January 7 killing 11 all people on board, might not have been airworthy, investigators found.
The Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC) has released preliminary findings showing several maintenance requirements were not followed by those operating the balloon, including procedures for inspecting the balloon’s burners and fuel system, and a “grab test” to test the strength of the balloon material.
As a result TAIC has recommended that Civil Aviation make an urgent check of New Zealand’s 74 hot air balloons to test for airworthiness…” read the full article here
Eleven people, including the pilot, have been killed in a hot air balloon crash in the Wairarapa.
Pilot Lance Hopping, CEO of Ballooning New Zealand Ltd, and five couples from the Wellington region were killed when their balloon (a Cameron A 210 named “Mr Big” reg. number ZK-XXF) burst into flames and became caught up in powerlines near Carterton this morning, cutting power to the town for some hours.
This is New Zealand’s largest air disaster since the death of nine people, including tourists, in a light plane crash at Fox Glacier on 4 Sept 2010. That event went largely unnoticed outside of New Zealand because it happened on the same day as the first Christchurch earthquake. For more read Fox Glacier air crash.
Few people know that New Zealand’s first fatal air accident (1899) involved a balloon which landed in the sea, drowning the pilot.
Another similar tragedy happened in 1995, when a balloon belonging to a company called Balloon Adventures ditched in the sea off Waimairi Beach in Christchurch. Three tourists drowned
It is not known whether any foreign nationals were involved in today’s crash, nor have any names been released other than the pilot’s.
The company, Hastings based Early Morning Balloons ltd (Facebook page) is said to be involved and is cooperating with civil aviation investigators. It has issued a statement expressing their condolences to the families and loved ones of the victims.
“he was waving to the passengers as the balloon passed overhead and appeared to hit a power cable.
“The people were enjoying a nice ride and by the looks of it they clipped a power wire,” he said.
“Then I heard the screams and looked out the window and heard it coming down. They sounded like screams of joy but they weren’t. It wasn’t coming from a great deal of height.
“I ran down the road to see if I could help but by that stage it was too late. It was just burned out. By the time the emergency services got there, there wasn’t much of a chance.”… more here
According to the company’s website it charges $350 per person for its Wairarapa flights which take off from behind the paua shop on Kent Street, Clareville, a street criss-crossed with overhead powerlines.
Those photographs are likely to form an important part of the investigation into what went wrong with ZK-XXF.
Various reports say that a fire started in the passenger basket and spread up the ropes towards the canopy. One of the questions we would expect to be answered is did the pilot carry and use an operational 1 kg AB:E type fire extinguisher to fight the blaze? Some of Mr Walkers photographs seem to show a small red extinguisher stored in the same compartment as the propane cylinders.
Other safety equipment that should’ve been on-board includes a simple pair of flame resistant gloves for the pilot so that he could shut off a gas valve in the event of a leak. In addition, the pilot should’ve been wearing clothing made of natural fibres which will singe and not burn readily. source
We suspect that the basket hit a powerline as the balloon made its descent, the wires made contact causing a spark which ignited a propane gas leak, causing a fierce fire. However, it will be a good 6-12 months before the accident investigation is concluded.
Google street view of the street outside the launch site
Our thoughts are with the family and friends of the deceased and with the witnesses to the crash who must’ve been traumatised by what they’ve seen.
In a police statement
“Wairarapa Area Commander Inspector Brent Register says Police began receiving reports from eye witnesses about 7:25am, where they reported a hot air balloon in distress.
“It appears the hot air balloon operated by Early Morning Balloons left Kent Street, Carterton (behind The Paua Factory), between 6:40am and 6:45am.”
He says after a 45-minute flight, the balloon was to land in a paddock in Somerset Road, Carterton. As the balloon was preparing to land, it hit wires on a power line, causing sparking in the basket.
“At this point, two of the 11 people onboard, believed to be a male and a female, appear to have jumped from the basket.”
Inspector Register says the balloon then made a sharp ascent, a fire ignited on board and the balloon plummeted into a paddock approx 200 metres away on Somerset Road.
All 11 people on board, including the pilot and five couples from the wider Wellington region, were killed in the crash.
“We are continuing to work with our partner agencies, which include the Coroner’s office, the Civil Aviation Authority, the Transport Accident and Investigation Commission, Dept of Labour, NZ Fire Service and Victim Support.”
Inspector Register says a thorough investigation is being conducted to ascertain the cause of the tragedy…”
Video of crash site
List of Victims
An official list will be released on Sunday but the deceased are believed to include:
The pilot Lance Hooping, Masterton retirees Desmond and Ann Dean who had vouchers for the flight as a Christmas present, Wellington couple Howard and Diana Cox, Wellington woman Alexis Still and her boyfriend Chrisjan Jordaan, who is believed to have originated from South Africa. Another couple have relatives in Victoria, Australia who are travelling to New Zealand.
Again, our deepest condolences go out to their families and friends.
Adventure tourism, deaths and regulation
New Zealand has a shocking safety record for some of its tourism activities, something we’ve often blogged about.
The CAA recently drafted new rules to force all aviation adventure tourism activities, including hot air balloons, microlights, warbirds, and tandem hang gliders and paragliders to hold air operator certificate.
The CAA safeguards civil aviation in New Zealand and has control over which operators can fly passengers and authority to make sure they meet safety standards.
Under Part 115 of the new civil aviation rules, all adventure aviation operators must hold an Operator Certificate.
“For those currently operating under Parts 101, 103, 104, 105, and 106, here are the transition timeframes for gaining a Part 115 Operator Certificate:
Hot air balloon, hang glider, paraglider, tandem parachute, and parachute drop aircraft operators must be certificated by 1 May 2012.
Microlight aircraft operations must be certificated by 1 Nov 2012.
Glider operations must be certificated by 1 May 2013.
Those currently conducting an adventure aviation operation under a Part 119 AOC may continue to do so until the expiry of that certificate, or 10 November 2012, whichever comes first.”
Despite several high profile deaths and injuries, a number of prosecutions and the introduction of a auditing and registration system for all tourism operators, we’re saddened to learn that these tragedies are still occurring.
An all encompassing set of Adventure tourism regulations finally were enacted in October 2011, three and a half years after the drowning death of British tourist Emily Jordan sparked a review of the adventure tourism industry within NZ.
Incredibly there is a further delay of three years until all 1,500 adventure tourism businesses within New Zealand must be registered and in possession of a safety audit certificate.
We don’t know if Early Morning Balloons ltd was registered or had ever received a safety audit.
There have been many more deaths and serious injuries since Emily died. Has anything changed since then?
The government is introducing new registration and auditing regulations in October but it will be three years before they take full effect. In the meantime is there much of a heightened safety awareness among tourism operators or is it business as usual?
Today we thought we’d look at the attitudes New Zealanders have towards their “Adventure tourism” sports in New Zealand and how that may be influencing the safety culture within the country’s $4 billion industry and in the wider community.
A while back the NZ Herald asked the following question of their readers. Remember that many of the fatal ‘accidents’ in this industry occur because of operator negligence (e.g. forgetting to tie off a bungy rope) not having simple safety equipment (e.g. the correct life jacket, or a rescue rope) errors of judgement, lack of training and poor appreciation of the risks involved.
These are not complicated, or expensive, issues and it doesn’t take much effort to rectify them. Why then is there all the fuss about ‘safety detracting from the experience’
Does wearing a seat belt and checking your tyre pressures make driving any the less enjoyable or more expensive? Why should paying to jump off a bridge, or jet around on a lake, be any less safe. Shouldn’t the paying punter expect the operator to take as much care as is reasonably practicable? Enjoying New Zealand is supposed to be all about you. 100% Pure You, not 100% Pure Profit
“Adventure” is not a word that qualified in most cases where accidents occured. There is no difference between bungy jumping in South Island or going to Rainbow’s End in Auckland.
This is not adventure, this is entertainment. People pay and queue for the big thrill of their life and they are entitled to do so within a safe and highly regulated structure (I would expect). Walking on a glacier or climbing a mountain can be classified as “adventurous” since you cannot control the elements.
But let’s face it, all the fatal accidents that happened this year or the year before are due to human error, lack of preparation from the operators, lack of regulation and compliance to any safety rules, lack of equipment, etc. Adventure is tramping in the jungle knowing that a tiger might eat you alive.
Adventure is not jumping from a bridge knowing that a stupid Kiwi instructor might have forgotten to attach you to the rope. Ingenuity anyone? Apparently not.”
Hamilton Physics (New Zealand)
“No more regualtion is really required. All regulation will do is add expense and drive people away. The reason that they are ‘adventure’ sports is because there is an element of risk involved. You can reduce the risk, but you can not remove it. If you do remove it, then most people won’t want to do it any more.
One sport I am trying to get started in NZ has an industry best practice of a 2% fatality rate. And that is with safety systems in place like you would not believe. 1/3 of all trips have a serious problem. So what? Going to Everest has a 10% fatality rate. If people know the risks and chose to take them and contribute to any search and rescue (by tax or donation), then we should just butt out. It’s their life, not the governments (well not yet anyway.)”
Opinion8d (Waitakere City)
Yes they do. We cannot continue to kill tourists (local or foreign) at the rate we are at the moment. People don’t mind taking a measured risk sometimes, but it has to be measured, not “let’s leap into the void and hope we don’t break our necks”, which appears to be the ‘rule’ that some operators practice their particular brand of ‘adventure tourism’ under.
Logical (Rotorua)
There is definitely no need for legislation. This is “adventure” and those people who chose to undertake these activities are expecting there to be some level of adrenaline rush or excitement and risk. If they are not then they should come on the “lamo tourism” trail.
Regulation should not be necessary. Businesses who offer these services can gain a competitive advantage by voluntarily developing systems that manage the risks and can market themselves on the basis of their reputation.
If we let Government keep on adding in regulations we may as well do away with free enterprise and stop pretending to be a democracy and have a totalitarian state.
Outdoor Freak (Auckland City)
I completely agree with those that mention risk.
There are always risks in the outdoors; some activities have more than others.
However, what does need to change is the lax attitude by some operators towards explaining these risks and ensuring they do everything in their power to minimise them.
I have experienced first hand very poor safety standards with several operators in this country; two separate incidents come to mind where injuries were sustained by the groups I was with due to very poor judgement calls by the guides.
It would be interesting to know how many tourists sustain injuries.I suspect it would be quite high. Probably impossible to quantify however, as most would go unreported.
The adventure tourism industry definitely needs to lift their game and lose the “she’ll be right”, macho approach.
High staff turnover is one of the biggest problems in the sector, so paying staff better wages and attracting professional guides as opposed to those who simply want to play in the outdoors for a season would be far more meaningful than yet more legislation.
What adventure tourism operators need to realise is that other countries also offer these sports and have far lower casualty rates. They have a sound grip on safety and the mitigation of risk and aren’t an expensive 24 hour plane ride away from home. The She’ll Be Right attitude isn’t acceptable overseas.
After all, this is a holiday for many people, not a death wish.
The inquest into the death of British tourist, Emily Jordan, has at last opened. But not in New Zealand, the country where she was killed whilst river boarding, but in Great Britain.
At the time of her death some adventure tourism activities in New Zealand were operating in a “regulatory vacuum.”
Emily Jordan drowned whilst participating in a commercially organised river boarding adventure on the Kawarau River in New Zealand on 29 April 2008. Following her death her father, Chris Jordan, launched a campaign calling for New Zealand’s “third world safety regulation” to be improved.
The inquest started three years after her death, due to court proceedings to fine the extreme sports company about £30,000 and the industry review. Mr Jordan called the trial’s outcome and fine “an insult to my daughter and us as a family“. More here
An inquest into the circumstances surrounding her death has never been held in New Zealand.
Proceedings opened with evidence from Emily’s partner, Jonathan Armour
Emily Jordan’s boyfriend describes her New Zealand river death
“The boyfriend of a backpacker who drowned while river boarding in New Zealand in 2008 has described events leading to her death at an inquest.
Emily Jordan, who was 21, and from Trimpley, in Worcestershire, drowned when she became wedged under a rock.
Jonathan Armour, who was also river boarding said his girlfriend was struggling to stay on the board despite being a strong swimmer.
It took 20 minutes to release her as no rope was available, the inquest heard.
The river boarding party had been told to steer to the right of a rock, but Miss Jordan was drifting to the left and at one point Mr Armour said he could only see her arm sticking out of the water.
‘Health and safety breaches’
The Swansea university graduate died in the Kawarau River near Queenstown.
She was was travelling with Mr Armour in New Zealand when the pair signed up for the Mad Dog River Boarding activity.
The company failed to carry any ropes and has previously admitted two health and safety charges.
It was fined NZ$66,000 (£27,600) and ordered to pay £33,500 to Miss Jordan’s family in compensation.
The inquest was told on Monday that from October, New Zealand authorities would order all river boarding companies to be registered.
The news comes after an Adventure tourism safety review carried out in the country last year, recommended that all firms register for external safety audits and said industry-wide safety practices should be developed.
The inquest in Smethwick in the West Midlands continues.” source
Mad Dog River boarding is now called The River Boarding Co.
Whilst the report is correct in that from October all companies need to registered and audited but there will be a 3 year grace period before that becomes fully enforced.
For more about the Adventure Tourism review’s finding read our extensive Adventure tourism and safety in New Zealand facts and stats page, which includes the following information
It’s almost a year to the day since Australian tourist Kirsty Moulder was seriously injured when she “slipped” out of a bungy harness at the old ferry bridge over the Waiau River near Hanmer Springs.
Today the company she jumped with Thrillseekers Adventure Ltd. were fined $40,000, in addition to the $18,000 they’d already paid in reparations to their victim.
The $18,000 must be what was referred to as a “full support and compensation package” that was being offered to Ms Moulder by Thrillseekers last year. So generous, one can only hope she had travel insurance too.
According to one news report Thrillseekers Adventure Ltd (emphasis ours)
“went though all their procedures and each step was double checked but they were well aware of the hazard that the ankle straps could slip off and did nothing to minimise or eliminate the hazard, which is unacceptable,” Department of Labour Christchurch service manager Margaret Radford said.
The company should have made sure a backup system was worn in addition to the ankle strapping, Ms Radford said.
“This would have prevented this terrible accident.”
The company now required jumpers to wear a full body harness.
The tourist was very lucky to be alive which might not have been the case, Ms Radford said.
At the time of the accident, Thrillseekers was the only one of eight bungy sites in the country that did not either have a secondary support available“
Under the circumstances we think that Thrillseekers Adventure Ltd were lucky not to have been facing a manslaughter charge.
According to one Christchurch website Thrillseekers was
“purchased by The Wood Scenic Line Ltd, the operators of the Christchurch Tramway, Gondola, Punting on the Avon & Grand Tour. Ownership will change officially on October 15 (year unknown) It will be known as ‘Thrillseekers Adventures’ and will be marketed in conjunction with the existing and very successful ‘Welcome Aboard‘ brand.
Situated on the banks of the Waiau River gorge and adjacent to the historic Waiau Ferry bridge the business has been family owned for over twenty years, offering Jet Boating, Rafting, Bungy Jumping and Quad Biking products as well as team building and conference based activities.
Managing Director of The Wood Scenic Line Ltd Michael Esposito said he is ‘delighted’ with the purchase. ‘We believe Thrillseekers has a great deal of potential and we are very pleased to have created this opportunity. A main focus for us will be to enhance the image, brand and quality of the operation while providing a viable option for international and domestic visitors.”
At that time of that article Blair Hartland was General Manager of Sales & Marketing for the Company and it was he who acted as the spokesman for the company in May last year when Ms Moulder was injured.
Regulation of Adventure Tourism
After a long line of serious injury and fatal adventure tourism ‘mishaps’ in New Zealand the regulation of the sector was being called Third World, with some companies operating in a “regulatory vacuum“
A delayed review of the industry had already been put on the back burner at the time Ms Moulder fell from the bungy rope. This was so that companies had “more time to engage” with the review.
Since then the review has been completed and new regulations introduced. From October 2011 operators will be required to be registered and audited.
Unfortunately it will be another three yearsbefore all 1,5000 adventure tourism businesses must be registered and in possession of a safety audit certificate.
It may be worth postponing that New Zealand adventure holiday until they do.
Adventure tourists are killing themselves for a good time in New Zealand. So much so that the government is looking at tougher measures to improve safety in the industry.
During five years (July 1, 2004 to June 30, 2009) 39 people died in NZ in what are recorded as workplace activities. But the actual number is likely to be much higher as recreational deaths were not included…” read full article here
A Nelson man who "bombarded" two 14-year-old girls with text messages, some of which were sexually explicit and predatory, has been jailed for 18 months.
A Palmerston North man shocked to find titillating toys among the tiaras in the children's section of a discount store was trespassed by police after he confronted the shop's owner.
A self-confessed pyromaniac who set a fire at Spotswood College has apologised, saying his time in prison has made him realise how stupid his actions were.
A former New Plymouth evangelist used his position as a man of God to hide pistol parts among Bibles to sneak them into the country, a judge said in the New Plymouth District Court yesterday
The study suggested significant adventure tourism and adventure sport injury problem in NZ. ACC paid >18,500 domestic adventure injury cases 3 weeks ago
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