Danger growing in the sky - report

Investigators at the wreckage of the crash which killed Jessica Neeson and Patricia Smallman. Photo / NZ Herald

An inquiry into a fatal mid-air collision has revealed a huge increase in dangerous close calls in the skies - and sparked pleas for change from grieving families.

New figures show that the number of aircraft near-collisions has gone from 17 in the 1990s to a staggering 131 between 2000 and 2010.

Grieving families point to crowded skies and a hike in the number of international students learning to fly in New Zealand.

The figures were revealed in a report by the Transport Accident Investigation Commission into the deaths of flight instructor Jessica Neeson, 27, and student Patricia Smallman, 64.

They were killed when the plane they were flying collided with another flown by Indian international student Manoj Kadam, 21.

Jessica's mother Lyn Neeson asked: "Didn't the CAA see that there were so many near misses before there was a fatality for them to look at it?"

She said she was shocked at the figures and that the Civil Aviation Authority should have seen the trend and moved to make the industry safer.

An aircraft traffic collision avoidance system could be bought for under $1000, she said, and would protect pilots and passengers.

Neeson also said there should also be improved vetting of students. "Teaching international students to fly has grown exponentially. That's what Jessica made her living on.

"To allow a business to grow that much uncontrolled - I wish we'd understood that there was a risk there."

Patricia Smallman's husband Wayne said reading the report had left him angry. "I'm basically devastated," he said. "She was quite some lady."

Wayne Smallman said the CAA had the power to make New Zealand safer for pilots. "What I hope will happen is we don't get a whitewash. The increase in near misses needs to be attended to."

He also highlighted the boom in training. "There's an awful lot of people who come into New Zealand with an awful lot of money to learn to fly."

He too said avoidance technology needed to be added to planes. With crowded skies and uncontrolled airfields, pilots no longer had time to safely use the "see and avoid rule".

The figures were highlighted by TAIC - but came from records kept by the CAA. In June, the CAA was caned by Auditor-General Lyn Provost for failing to fully address recommendations made in 2005 about certification and surveillance procedures.

A CAA spokesman said the increase could be attributed to increased reporting by pilots as well as the increase in student numbers.

"The CAA monitors and is well aware of the increase in flight training activity that has occurred over the last five years and the stresses that this places on the airspace system."

- Additional reporting: Frances Morton and Joanne Carroll