Close calls in air skyrocketing

A light plane being flown by a student collided with a helicopter above Paraparaumu. All three flyers were killed. Photo / Mark Mitchell

The number of midair near-misses has skyrocketed over the past 20 years, with trainee pilots involved in nearly half of the incidents, figures show.

Data from the Civil Aviation Authority shows that between 1990 and 1999, 17 near-collisions were reported, including three involving training aircraft.

But since 2000, that figure has grown to 131. Sixty of them involved training flights, some with instructors on board.

Seven people have been killed in training crashes since 2000 compared with none in the previous 10 years.

The Transport Accident Investigation Commission is calling for public submissions on aviation training as it examines the safety issues involved, as well as the fatal midair collision in July near Feilding that killed Palmerston North flight instructor Jessica Neeson, 27, and Waikanae trainee pilot Patricia Smallman, 64.

Vincent Aviation managing director Peter Vincent said CAA figures showing pilot training hours had doubled in the past 15 years to nearly 300,000 hours a year indicated that there was "vastly more air traffic" than in the 1990s.

He said the increased number of near-misses could also be due to pilots being more inclined to report them than in the past, and flying schools taking more foreign students.

"It would have been a rarity to have a person with English not being their first language in years gone by. That's not the case now.

"It's just a fact of life their communication skills are not as good as someone who has English as their first language."

Mr Vincent said increased manpower at air traffic control centres was not necessarily the answer to reducing accidents, pointing to a fatal midair collision between two Massey aircraft at Palmerston North in 2006.

Avoidance control systems were an option but cost $300,000 each.

"If you have a lot of traffic on the roads you are going to have accidents no matter how you try to control it, whether they're drinking or how well they are licensed," he said.

A review of the accident and incident data showed that the reported number of near-misses had increased significantly in the past five years and had been "more pronounced".

Associate Transport Minister Nathan Guy yesterday welcomed the review and said the Government would consider any recommendations.

Submissions close on February 21.

- Additional reporting by NZPA