What happened
On the morning of Thursday, 15 May 1997, a scheduled parachute jump operation was underway near Whenuapai Aerodrome. At approximately 11:32 hours, ten parachutists exited a Hercules NZ7002 from an altitude of 10,000 feet. As the jumpers descended, they passed several miles ahead and to the left of a Bandeirante aircraft that was transiting the same airspace at 7,000 feet.
While the parachutists and the aircraft occupied the same general area, no physical collision took place between the jumpers and the plane.
The investigation
An investigation into the incident focused on the sequence of clearances provided by air traffic control. It was established that while the crew of the Hercules NZ7002 had received authorization to release the parachutists, the clearance itself was fundamentally flawed. The investigation determined that the authorization was inappropriate because of a specific misunderstanding that had occurred between the Air Traffic Controllers on duty.
Findings
- The primary cause of the incident was imprecise and unclear communication between controllers.
- A lack of adequate procedural instructions for controllers contributed to the error, as there were no sufficient safeguards to prevent misunderstandings when issuing release clearances.
Safety action
Following the investigation, the Airways Corporation implemented corrective measures to address the identified communication gaps and improve the accuracy of instructions provided to controllers.