CAA concerned about vaping 

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is concerned about the effects of vaping and has urged its medical examiners to specifically ask about the practice and what substances are being used. 

The CAA says the full side effects of vaping are not yet known. It says there have been reports of rapidly developing respiratory failure and death and points out that vaping is used not only for nicotine inhalation but also to consume cannabinoids and potentially a range of other recreational drugs. 

Read more HERE.

Air New Zealand recognition 

Air New Zealand won the Sustainable Business Leadership award at the Deloitte Top 200 awards in December. 

The airline was also identified as runner-up to the safest airline in the world by AirlineRatings.com, the airline safety and product rating review website. Qantas took the top spot.

AirlineRatings.com named Air New Zealand as its airline of the year, nudging out Singapore Airlines (last year’s winner), All Nippon Airways (ANA), Qantas and Cathay Pacific. Air New Zealand was recognised for its record-breaking performance, multi-award-winning inflight innovations, operational safety, environmental leadership and motivation of its staff – all of which AirlineRatings says make it a clear industry leader. 

Read more HERE, HERE and HERE.

Corrosion leads to emergency landing

Corrosion on springs meant to lock landing gear in place resulted in an emergency landing for an ATR aircraft, according to a report by the Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC). 

The incident occurred in April 2017 when the aircraft was en route from Auckland to Nelson. It diverted to Palmerston North for an emergency landing after the crew found the landing gear could not be locked into position. The aircraft landed safely with no injuries, an intact undercarriage and one burst tyre. 

Salty air had caused corrosion, cracking and ultimately breakage in two springs which lock the landing gear in place. The TAIC inquiry showed that this was unlikely to have been forewarned in maintenance.

The aircraft operator has since inspected landing gear locking springs across its fleet of ATR72s, has a new maintenance programme for the springs, and replaces them more frequently. 

The manufacturer has also updated its maintenance manual for ATR72s worldwide and its training systems now include a scenario based on this incident. 

Read more HERE.

CAA gives thumbs down for Lyttelton Harbour water aerodrome 

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has issued an “objectionable determination” in response to an application from Peninsula Air to operate a water aerodrome in Lyttelton Harbour.

The CAA said “the density of activities within the proposed area of the harbour created a high risk of incident between seaplanes and other users of the harbour and associated property on the ground/water in such a confined area.” 

More than 175 public submissions were taken into account by the CAA in preparing its aeronautical study of the proposal, many of which mentioned the danger of collisions involving aircraft and other harbour users or marine life. 

Read more HERE.