300 aircraft misreported in NZ skies - CAA

Plans for the four-runway airport on a sparse strip of land on the Isle of Grain, Kent, were unveiled this week. If built, the airport would be the biggest in the world. Photo / Thinkstock

Almost 300 aircraft were reported as being in the wrong place in New Zealand skies last year, the Civil Aviation Authority says.

Poor radio communication was often the cause of these planes being in the wrong spot.

The comment comes as the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) launches its annual AvKiwi Plane Talking roadshow which travels the country with safety messages for all pilots.

This year the focus is on what happened when radio communications went wrong, and what can be done about it.

"Poor radio calls can lead to airspace busts, blocked runways, near misses and even collisions.''

Radio confusion caused the 1977 accident at Spanish island Tenerife in which two Boeing 747 planes collided on the runway and burst into flames, CAA said.

The incident killed 583 people - the worst aviation disaster in the world.

The CAA roadshow would visit 30 locations around the country, starting in New Plymouth on March 5, and finishing in June.