Few rules on skydiving planes

Fox Glacier Photo / Ronald Bertram.

Skydiving flights like the one that killed nine people yesterday are not subject to any regulatory oversight.

The aeroplanes do not have to be certified by the Civil Aviation Authority and are not under the same stringent maintenance requirements as other commercial aircraft.

Civil Aviation Authority spokesman Bill Sommer said skydiving planes were classified as recreational aircraft.

The pilot would have to have a commercial licence and the plane would have to adhere to manufacturer's requirements. Beyond that, nothing.

A new rule being introduced would bring the operators under the same regulations as commercial airlines.

"All operators will be subject to monitoring and surveillance by the Civil Aviation Authority," he said. "At the moment, they aren't."

He said it had not been finalised when the new rule would come into effect.

New Zealand Skydiving Association chief executive Gareth Jacobs said he would welcome the changes to guarantee a level of safety for skydiving customers.