Near miss for Canterbury pilot with Air Force plane

Close call for light plane and RNZAF King Air 350 at Hokitika Airport. Photo / NZDF

A pilot operating on the wrong radio frequency for Hokitika Airport narrowly missed a collision thanks to the actions of the ground crew.

The March incident between a privately-owned light plane and a Royal New Zealand Air Force aircraft has been highlighted in the Civil Aviation Authority's latest Vector magazine.

A Canterbury pilot flying to Okarito and on to Hokitika to refuel before returning back over the alps said he had been to Hokitika several years before when the radio frequency was 119.1 MHz, and an unattended airfield.

"After a short flight up the coast, I made the comment to my daughter that it was very quiet around Hokitika I knew there were a few microlights that fly out of there. But it was a weekday and maybe that's why it was so quiet on the radio.''

Approaching Hokitika they made two calls.

Meanwhile, down on the ground Jesper Reinink, part of the airport team that inspects the runways before each scheduled passenger flight, knew an RNZAF King Air was due in, so he parked against the aerodrome's western boundary to watch it land.

As the RNZAF King Air 350 appeared from the south, he also became aware of the recreational aircraft approaching from the east.

"We get quite a bit of trainee traffic here, and if it was going to do a touch-and-go, it and the King Air were going to cross over each other very closely in the same airspace."

He radioed the recreational aircraft asking about its intentions, but there was no response.

The RNZAF pilot, however, heard the transmission and immediately undertook a "go-around", climbing and heading north.

The Canterbury pilot said he had not heard any calls on the radio, and it was then that he learned the frequency had changed in 2017.

"I'm more vigilant during flight planning. It's very easy to become complacent about planning when you've been to a destination before,'' he told CAA.

Civil Aviation thanked the pilot for sharing his story so that others could get a free lesson on keeping their AIP up-to-date.

Hokitika Airport operator Destination Westland Ltd chief executive Melanie Anderson said the local airport team was trained to be observant and aware of their surroundings

"Jesper was super vigilant, and his actions made sure there were no accidents at our airport that day.''

- Hokitika Guardian