New Zealand News

A few days later the Air Force faced the embarrassment of having to withdraw an allegation made in a news release that a young Flying Officer was to blame for the fatal crash of a Skyhawk during an aerobatic routine last October.

This followed a Court of Inquiry finding last month that there was an insufficient margin for error in the manoeuvre and that Flying Officer Graham Carter was in fact not to blame for the crash. The Air Force said it regretted any distress last April’s initial news release had caused the Carter family and friends.

As if all that wasn’t bad enough,the Air Force then lost one of its remaining precious Iroquois while attempting to lift a radio mast into position for the Ministry of Defence near Helensville on July 9. According to eye witnesses, the helicopter was caught by a strong wind gust. The pilot immediately released his load but the tail rotor apparently clipped a tree and the Iroquois crashed.

All three occupants escaped, shaken, but unhurt. The accident, the RNZAF’s fourth Iroquois crash since they were first introduced to service in 1966, has compounded an already serious equipment shortage. At press time it had only six of the heavy duty helicopters available for use, but assurances have been given that priority work such as search and rescue missions would not be affected. However, various other tasks including Army cooperation and exercises have been either restricted or cancelled.

Meanwhile, the Air Force is scouring the world for spare parts which,it admits, are not going to be easy to find. “We have two spare tailbooms but finding more will be difficult because other users are’ unlikely to readily part with any spares they might have,” said public relations officer, Flight Lieutenant Diana Hales. As a short-term measure,civilian contractors will be used to make repairs rather than replace the tail booms,but this willbe followed by major structural upgradings over the next three years.

Meanwhile, the Commander of 14 Squadron at Ohakea, Sqdn Ldr Nick Pedley, is attempting to juggle the allocation of flying hours between airframes of his remaining available Strikemasters in a bid to keep the aircraft flying as long as possible.

The 18 year old Strikemasters are scheduled to be phased out of service later next year when the Air Force begins transition to the first of its 18 new Aermacchi MB-339C jet trainers. The $NZ266m project also includes spares and a simulator, and a provision for $28m for goods and services tax – a sum which presumably the Government will make available to the Air Force to pay the Government!

Which all seems a bit daft; but as I said at the start, the RNZAF hasn’t had the best of months

Polynesian to Fly Tasman

Ansett managed Polynesian Airlines has won trans Tasman rights for one flight a week between Auckland and Sydney. In turn, Air New Zealand can now have access between Apia and Honolulu,and from Apia to Rarotonga (subject to Cook Islands approval).

Rnzaf Promotions

Wing Commander Gordon Wood has been appointed the RNZAF’s new base commander at Wigram, Christchurch, a position he will take up in December with promotion to the rank of Group Captain. He will replace Group Captain David Hill, who is being posted to Wellington as Asst Chief of Air Staff (Logistics).

Air Commodore John Hosie, who was the Air Officer Commanding Support Group, this month (August) moved to the Canadian National Defence College in Ottawa, Canada. He has been replaced by Air Commodore Graeme Goldsmith.

Airport Profit After Setbacks

In spite of the loss of two major international carriers, the Christchurch International Airport Company produced a net profit (after tax) of $NZ3. 6m during the 1989/90 financial year. Now in its third year since privatisation, the airport suffered a double setback late last year when first Thai, then British Airways,both withdrew their weekly flights from the southern city. Although the company had lost revenue as a result of those moves, it was able to make a recovery as new services were introduced, said the company’s chief executive,Mr George Bellew. The result was a dramatic improvement on the company’s first year when it returned a profit of only $NZ17,000. “The whole economy is in recession and it is a difficult time for everybody in New Zealand,” said the company’s chairman,Mr Peter Leeming.

“Notwithstanding that, we have achieved a most satisfactory result. ” The airport is three quarters owned by the Christchurch City Council and one quarter by the Government. They will receive a shareholders’ dividend of $1. 5 million.

Bars on Ansett

Ansett New Zealand, which was responsible for introducing to the New Zealand domestic travel scene such sophisticated refinements as airport lounges, aerobridges and inflight meals, have now introduced an inflight bar service on its flight. The airline has entered its fourth year with a steadily increasing share of the market. Although Ansett’s Australian commander in chief,Sir Peter Abeles, is unwilling to predict when it would break even, he did say at the Ansett travel and transport writers’ seminar last month that “we are much closer to being in good shape now than we were two years ago. “