2012 Carterton hot air balloon crash
.jpg)
ZK-XXF, the balloon that crashed
|
|
| Accident summary | |
|---|---|
| Date | 7 January 2012, 07:22 NZDT (18:22, 6 January UTC) |
| Summary | Pilot error causing power line contact and onboard fire |
| Site | Clareville, near Carterton, New Zealand 41°01′04″S 175°32′42″E / 41.01790°S 175.54505°ECoordinates: 41°01′04″S 175°32′42″E / 41.01790°S 175.54505°E |
| Passengers | 10 |
| Crew | 1 |
| Fatalities | 11 (all) |
| Survivors | 0 |
| Aircraft type | Cameron A-210 hot air balloon |
| Aircraft name | Mr Big |
| Operator | Early Morning Balloons Ltd |
| Registration | ZK-XXF |
| Flight origin | Carterton, New Zealand |
| Destination | Carterton, New Zealand |
On 7 January 2012, a scenic hot air balloon flight from Carterton, New Zealand, collided with a high voltage power line while attempting to land, causing it to catch fire, disintegrate and crash just north of the town, killing all eleven people (ten passengers and the pilot) on board.
An inquiry into the accident by the Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC) concluded that the balloon pilot made an error of judgement when contact with the power lines became imminent, trying to out-climb the power lines rather than using the rapid descent system to drop the balloon quickly to the ground below. Toxicology analysis of the balloon pilot after the accident tested positive for tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), suggesting he may have been under the influence of cannabis at the time of the crash, which ultimately led to the error of judgement. The crash was the sixth accident in ten years the TAIC had investigated (the TAIC also investigates marine and rail accidents) which involved key people testing positive for drugs or alcohol, and the commission has called for the Government to enact stricter measures in regards to drug and alcohol use in the aviation, marine and rail industries.
The crash was the deadliest air disaster to occur in mainland New Zealand since the July 1963 crash of New Zealand National Airways Corporation Flight 441 in the Kaimai Ranges, and the deadliest crash involving a New Zealand aircraft since the November 1979 crash of Air New Zealand Flight 901 into Mount Erebus. As of September 2016[update], it is the deadliest ever ballooning disaster in New Zealand, and the fourth-deadliest worldwide, surpassed only by the balloon crash in Australia in 1989 that killed 13, the balloon crash in Texas in 2016 that killed 16 people, and the 2013 crash in Egypt that killed 19 people.
...
Wikipedia