The Transport Accident Investigation Commission's November 2011 briefing to the incoming Minister of Transport has been released. read more ...

Transport Accident Investigation Commission investigators have today been focused on detailed site examination in conjunction with the Police DVI and inquiry teams as they work to complete their on-scene work. The close examination and progressive packing of evidence into a container for removal to a secure facility is expected to take until Wednesday, possibly Thursday. Meanwhile, interviews and documentary evidence collection has continued and will do for some time as the investigation team works to assemble evidence for the Commission’s inquiry which will determine the circumstances of the accident and make any recommendations which might improve transport safety. 

A four-member investigation team has been making good progress in gathering evidence for the Transport Accident Investigation Commission’s inquiry into yesterday’s fatal balloon accident in the Wairarapa. Investigators have: reviewed photography of the accident flight, returned to make a further scene examination before the extraction of the deceased, reviewed witness statements given to the Police and started follow-up interviews with key witnesses, liaised with our colleague agency in the United Kingdom in case inquiries need to be made of the aircraft manufacturer, and obtained local weather data. Interviews and evidence gathering will continue around the Wairarapa over the next couple of days, the aircraft’s manuals and maintenance records are being secured, contact is being made with other ballooning operators, and a further detailed examination of the wreckage will be made on site once the deceased have been removed and before the wreckage is removed to secure storage. The Commission is a standing Commission of Inquiry charged with investigating selected transport accidents from a safety-focused perspective with a view to explaining how an accident occurred, and the lessons and recommendations for change to improve transport safety that may be taken from it. 

The Transport Accident Investigation Commission has opened an inquiry into this morning’s fatal ballooning accident in the Wairarapa. An investigation team is being assembled with the first two of up to four investigators due on the scene about midday. The Commission conducts safety focused investigations with the aim of being able to explain the causes of an accident, so that lessons and recommendations can be drawn in order to help reduce the likelihood of a similar event in the future. 

Passenger vessel Oceanic Discoverer, Fatal injury, Port of Napier read more ...

The Transport Accident Investigation Commission advises that it has made good progress with the fact gathering to inform its safety-focused inquiry into the Rena grounding. The Commission needs to attend to some procedural matters before releasing an interim factual report which it now expects to do early in the New Year.
The Commission's work to date has not turned up anything to suggest the need for it to issue any urgent safety recommendations ahead of the release of any interim or final reports.
The Commission’s focus is on being able to explain events from a safety perspective, and to make any recommendations that might be appropriate to help prevent a similar type of event happening again. Its inquiry is completely separate from those of Maritime New Zealand and the Bay of Plenty Regional Council. 

Passenger vessel Volendam, lifeboat fatality, Port of Lyttelton, New Zealand, 8 January 2011 read more ...

Cessna A152, ZK-NPL and Robinson R22 Beta, ZK-HIE near-collision New Plymouth Aerodrome, 10 May 2010 read more ...

The Transport Accident Investigation Commission's annual report for the year ended 30 June 2011 has been published, and is available as a .pdf (720 KB).