Army crash probe points to driver

The fatal crash of an Army Unimog truck on Banks Peninsula last year was likely to have been caused by momentary driver inattention, a court of inquiry has found.

Private Sean James Dougherty, 29, and Private Daniel Kairua, 22, died when the truck rolled almost 400m off Bossu Rd, near Wainui, during a driver-training exercise on August 11.

A third soldier in the Unimog was badly injured in the crash, which happened in icy conditions.

The court examined possible causes, including road, vehicle and weather conditions, and considered police and Land Transport New Zealand reports.

It found there were no defects or irregularities in the vehicle or road conditions which could have caused the accident, but a light dusting of snow on the road could have hampered the driver's view of the road-edge.

The training convoy the Unimog was taking part in at the time of the accident was well-planned and organised, the court of inquiry found.

The commander of the Burnham-based 3rd Land Force Group, Colonel Sean Trengrove, said yesterday that regular driver training occurred year round in locations selected to improve driver ability and confidence.

"In the operational environments we have deployed to, such as Afghanistan, East Timor, Bougainville and Bosnia, many of the roads are little more than goat tracks, and are often affected by extreme weather conditions," he said in a statement.

"We need to prepare our soldiers to drive to the conditions they will encounter both in New Zealand and overseas."

The court also issued the following recommendations:

* An Army review begun in February into all driver training be continued.

* The Army review the number of transport-related specialist staff at regional headquarters to provide greater technical advice and specialist transport management.

* All transport activities involving two or more vehicles to require written and/or verbal orders.

* The contents of medical kits in all Army vehicles be reviewed to better assist serious vehicle injuries.

* Army driving instructors to further emphasise the importance of correct positioning of vehicles on the road, particularly in adverse driving conditions.

* The Army's Engineering Authority conduct a technical investigation into the performance of the roll over protection system fitted to all Unimogs.

The Banks Peninsula crash raised questions over the safety of the Army's ageing Unimog fleet.

However, before the court of inquiry was completed, three soldiers died in February when their Unimog plunged off State Highway 6 and into the Kawarau River during an exercise.

The deaths of Private Ashley Goodwin, 19, Private Shane Ohlen, 21, and Private David Partington, 17, took the number of fatal crashes involving the vehicles to six.

- NZPA

Unimog safety

* The Army's Unimog fleet has been involved in six fatal crashes since 1994.
* The vehicles, which have a high centre of gravity, were fitted with rollbars after an investigation into a crash which killed Staff Sergeant Billy White in East Timor in April 2000.
* In March, the Army introduced new Unimog driver-training procedures.