Agricultural aviation: Spate of accidents prompts safety reminder for pilots

Agricultural Aviation Association chairman Bruce Peterson said there have been five more serious accidents in the past 10 weeks. Photo / Mark Mitchell

By Sally Murphy of RNZ

A spate of accidents in recent weeks is a wake-up call for pilots in the industry, the New Zealand Agricultural Aviation Association says.

Chairman Bruce Peterson said there had been five more serious accidents and five incidents over the last 10 weeks.

“They vary between helicopters and planes that were spraying paddocks and forestry blocks, it seems pilot error or mechanical issues are the main causes.”

The Civil Aviation Authority said since August 3 it has received reports of five accidents where the nature of flight was agricultural - two of which are under investigation.

There have been a further three incidents reported from the agricultural sector, of which one is under investigation.

The accidents included a plane hitting a fence, a plane veering during take-off on a wet airstrip, going down a bank, and through a fence, and a helicopter striking wires during a spraying operation.

The incidents included an aircraft flying through Ōhakea airspace without clearance from the control tower and a helicopter skid striking a powerline causing it to snap.

Peterson said it was lucky there had been no serious injuries, but luck might not always continue to be on everyone’s side.

With farmers earning less it had been really quiet for agricultural pilots, he said.

Now there was more work available, pilots were back in the air after a prolonged break.

“We’ve got guys that perhaps aren’t as current as they would normally be, which doesn’t help and then there’s the financial pressure to make some money while the work is there.

“As a wider industry, agriculture is really struggling, especially the sheep and beef guys, everyone’s spending less but we need to make sure that that’s not impacting safety.

“Facilities need to be kept in order, especially runways.”

Peterson said there was also pressure from customers to fly when the weather was not the best.

The key message for pilots was to take their time, he said.

“Think about what you’re doing, think about the ramifications of when things or what can go wrong, and don’t take your aircraft anywhere that your brain hasn’t been five minutes earlier, slow is fast in our industry.”

He said farmers could help by recognising that pilots were doing the best they could and didn’t need extra pressure.

“When pilots say it’s not safe to fly and they need to knock off, that should be the end of the conversation.”

- RNZ