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Two aircraft came within 41 seconds of a head-on collision, TAIC report reveals
Two aircraft with a combined 42 people on board came within 41 seconds of a head-on collision over Northland, a report from the Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC) has revealed.
TAIC put the near-miss down to failures in the way New Zealand’s airspace is managed.
The Commission found there had been no review of Whangārei airspace for more than a decade, despite increasing air traffic and a rule that airspace should be reviewed every five years.
Also alarming was the finding that no agency in New Zealand had responsibility for conducting such reviews, an omission the commission said needed to be addressed urgently.
According to the report, which was released on Friday morning, an Air New Zealand Q-300 with 40 people on board was flying south from Whangārei to Auckland on the morning of 28 August 2023.
Around the same time a flying school’s Beech Duchess, with two people on board, was heading north from Ardmore to Whangārei using the same flight path.
The report stated the air traffic controller instructed both aircraft to descend into “uncontrolled airspace” and pass each other there.
That meant responsibility for avoiding a collision passed from air traffic control to the two pilots.
That was at the time a commonly used work-around, due to air traffic control workload and the limited amount of controlled airspace available for keeping planes apart.
Air space diagram showing the paths of the two aircraft on 28 August 2023. Photo: Supplied / TAIC
The Q-300 was flying in cloud at 6000 feet when the Beech descended to the same altitude in front of it.
Over the Brynderwyn Hills the Q-300 crew received an alert from the plane’s airborne collision avoidance system (ACAS), described in the report as a “last line of defence”.
Moments later an alert also showed up on the air controller’s radar and the Q-300 was given clearance to climb to 8000 feet, above the approaching Beech.
The Beech did not have, and was not required to have, an ACAS system.
At the closest point the aircraft were 8km from each other – or just 41 seconds apart at their 700km/h closing speed.
“Closing speed” describes how fast two objects are approaching each other.
TAIC chief commissioner David Clarke said no one was hurt and no damage resulted, but it was too close.
“It happened because the controller or flight service officer hadn’t provided sufficiently timely traffic information after sending both flights into uncontrolled airspace,” he said.
“This left each crew flying in cloud, unable to see the other plane, unaware of the immediacy of potential conflicts, and the crew of the Beech poorly placed to coordinate their own avoidance actions.”
Clarke said the 42 crew and passengers ended up in that risky situation due to long-standing weaknesses in the design of the Whangārei area airspace.
“Despite recurring concerns raised by pilots, controllers and the aerodrome operator, the North Sector airspace hasn’t had a comprehensive review since 2014, even though reviews are required every five years.”
Nor was the problem limited to Whangārei.
“It’s a nationwide issue because New Zealand needs clear responsibility for conducting comprehensive airspace reviews,” Clarke said.
The Commission made a number of urgent recommendations as a result of the near-miss.
They included that the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) carry out a full review of lower-level airspace around Whangārei and act on the findings.
The Commission also called on the Ministry of Transport to clarify which agency was responsible for ongoing nationwide airspace reviews, and ensure that agency identified any emerging risks before they led to more serious events.
In its response to the Commission, the CAA said it was working with Whangārei airspace stakeholders on safety improvements.
There had also been initial engagement with Kerikeri airspace users.
Throughout 2026 the CAA would carry out reviews of uncontrolled airspace at Timaru, Hokitika, Whakatāne and Kāpiti Coast aerodromes.
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The chief executive of the Parliamentary Service is confident there will be enough room to accommodate the increased number of MPs and their staff coming into Parliament.
On current numbers, up to 131 MPs could be sitting in the Chamber following the election, brought on by a record overhang result.
Clerk of the House of Representatives Dr David Wilson told the Spinoff that currently the debating chamber had enough chairs to seat 124 MPs – including the Speaker of the House – and work was being done to accommodate more by altering the seating arrangement.
In a statement, Parliamentary Service chief executive Rafael Gonzalez-Montero said planning for a larger Parliament had been going for “some time”.
“Now that the election results have confirmed an increase to the number of members we are looking at several options.
“We are confident we will be able to accommodate all members within the Chamber.”
VNP / Phil Smith
Gonzalez-Montero said office accommodation for members and their staff would be “stretched” for a short time, but the new Members’ Building was only a few months away from “practical completion”.
That building – located behind Parliament – was due to be ready to occupy in April next year and had capacity to accommodate around 30 backbench MPs.
“All members should be in fit-for-purpose accommodation from that point,” Gonzalez-Montero said.
Following the 2023 election, 123 MPs sat in the Chamber – a record number at the time. That decreased to 122 following the resignation of National MP Judith Collins.
Collins held the seat of Papakura and stepped down in May and Parliament voted against holding a by-election because it was too close to the election.
The election result also meant high-ranking National Party MPs like Chris Bishop, Paul Goldsmith, Nicola Willis and Gerry Brownlee – Speaker of the House and an MP for 30 years – would likely not make it back into Parliament.
Only resigning or retiring MPs were permitted to give a valedictory speech meaning none of them would get the chance to give a valedictory statement.
Asked if their would be special allowances for valedictories, Wilson said in a statement that normally only MPs were allowed to speak in the House but the House could suspend its own rules or temporarily alter them.
“It could do so to allow former members to address the House.”
Wilson said no such arrangements could be made until the next Parliament opened and members sworn in.
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