Ansett New Zealand Flight 703

Ansett New Zealand Flight 703 was an Ansett New Zealand scheduled passenger transport flight from Auckland Airport to Palmerston North. On 9 June 1995, the de Havilland Canada Dash 8 aircraft flying this route crashed into hilly terrain in the Tararua Ranges, 16 km east of Palmerston North airport, during an instrument approach in bad weather. The aircraft was carrying 18 passengers and three crew members. All passengers were New Zealand citizens except for one United States citizen. The flight attendant and three passengers died as a result of the crash.

Ansett New Zealand Flight 703
The wreckage of the aircraft the day after the crash
Accident
Date9 June 1995
SummaryControlled flight into terrain
SiteTararua Ranges, New Zealand
Aircraft
Aircraft typede Havilland Canada DHC-8-102[1]
OperatorAnsett New Zealand
RegistrationZK-NEY
Flight originAuckland Airport
DestinationPalmerston North International Airport
Occupants21
Passengers18
Crew3
Fatalities4
Injuries17
Survivors17

Aircraft and crew
An Ansett New Zealand DHC Dash 8-102 similar to the one in the incident

The aircraft, registration ZK-NEY,[2] a de Havilland Canada DHC-8 Dash 8, was manufactured in Canada in 1986. It had accumulated 22,154 flight hours and 24,976 flight cycles.[3]

The captain was 40-year-old Garry Norman Sotheran,[4][5] who had 7,765 flight hours, including 273 on the Dash 8. The first officer was 33-year-old Barry Brown,[6] who had 6,460 flight hours, including 341 on the Dash 8.[3]

Accident

During the approach to a right turn which would place the aircraft on final approach to runway 25, the right landing gear failed to fully extend so the co-pilot began to manually extend it using a hydraulic pump. The aircraft's power settings had already been reduced to Flight Idle which was normal, but the aircraft was inadvertently allowed to descend too low toward the undulating terrain leading into Palmerston North. The initial impact with terrain occurred at 1,272 feet (388 m) above sea level; an aircraft on profile should have been 2,650 feet (810 m) above sea level.[3]

Although Flight 703's Ground Proximity Warning System (GPWS) sounded an alarm four seconds before the aircraft hit the ground, the crew was unable to avoid the accident. According to the Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC) report, an audio alarm telling the crew to climb the aircraft should have sounded 17 seconds before impact, but the GPWS malfunctioned, for reasons that have never been determined. There was an investigation by the New Zealand Police in 2001[7] into whether or not a mobile phone call from the aircraft may have interfered with the system. The official crash report[3] does mention the following on page 69:

"The aircraft manufacturer's avionics representative advised that there was no likelihood that the operation of a computer, other electronic device or a cell phone would have affected the aircraft's flight instruments."

The captain's defence was that 4.5 seconds before impact the radar altimeter display flipped 1,000 feet in altitude as he watched.

Crash site

Flight 703 pancaked onto a hilltop and broke up as it slid along the ground, killing the flight attendant instantly. Passenger Reginald John Dixon tried to free two others trapped near the wing root as the wreckage caught fire. He failed to free them and a flash fire critically burned him. He died from his injuries two weeks later. Thus, three passengers also died and many others sustained injuries.

Ansett New Zealand DHC-8 ZK-NEU, sister ship of the accident aircraft

For his bravery in a dangerous situation, Dixon was awarded the New Zealand Cross, New Zealand's highest award for civilian bravery.[8]

Possible radar altimeter malfunction

Later study of the wreckage of Flight 703 revealed that the antennas for the radar altimeter (which sends a signal to the GPWS indicating how far above the ground the aircraft is) had been painted and this possibly reduced the GPWS' ability to provide a timely alarm, although later comments by TAIC insisted the paint did not block or reflect signals.[9] Radar altimeter antennas are clearly embossed with the words, "do not paint", a warning that was not heeded. Bench testing of the radar altimeter proved the unit was still functioning perfectly after its recovery from the wreckage.

See also

References
  • Dash 8 Down: the Inside Story of Ansett Flight 703. ISBN 1-86941-489-6. Guerin, Michael; 2001; Random House; 186pp; Paperback;
  1. Accident description at the Aviation Safety Network
  2. "Active Aircraft Register (ZK-NEY)". Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand.
  3. "Occurrence Report Details – Investigation 95-011". Transport Accident Investigation Commission. Archived from the original on 14 March 2012.
  4. "Manslaughter trial for pilot". NZ Herald. 8 September 2000. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  5. "Verdict leaves pilot speechless". NZ Herald. 1 June 2001. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  6. Horwood, Alison (29 August 2000). "Dash 8 co-pilot: 'No word on gear faults'". NZ Herald. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  7. "Ansett Plane Crash Cellphone Call". TV3 News. 15 June 2001.
  8. "Recipients of the New Zealand Cross". New Zealand Defence Force. Archived from the original on 8 August 2007. Retrieved 28 July 2007.
  9. "New Zealand officials examine delayed crash warning". Flightglobal. 20 August 1997.
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