Post by Dave Homewood on Jun 21, 2021 12:53:33 GMT 12
Pilot flew tourists to Queenstown in aircraft with severely damaged propeller
Mariné Lourens
12:27, Jun 21 2021
Nathan Dale-Emberton in the Christchurch District Court. STACY SQUIRES/STUFF
A former commercial pilot who flew six tourists from Milford Sound to Queenstown despite knowing the aircraft had a severely damaged propeller, has been convicted more than a decade later of endangering his passengers.
Nathan Dale-Emberton was fined $4250 in the Christchurch District Court on Friday after he was convicted of operating an aircraft in a manner that caused unnecessary endangerment.
He was also given a $1500 fine for performing maintenance on an aircraft without holding an aircraft maintenance engineer licence.
According to a statement by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), the charges related to an incident on January 26, 2010.
Dale-Emberton was working as a senior pilot for a scenic tourist flight operator, flying tourists between Queenstown and Fiordland. The name of the company has been suppressed by the court.
While taking off from Big Bay, a beach north of Milford Sound, the aircraft’s propeller was severely damaged by stones thrown up during the takeoff run.
When Dale-Emberton had returned to Queenstown he did not inspect the aircraft or even do “a quick walkaround” to check for any damage. He then flew to Milford Sound to pick up a group of tourists.
It was only there that he noticed the damage to the aircraft’s propeller and informed the company head office.
He then attempted to minimise the damage by filing down the propeller – a maintenance task that may only be performed by qualified aircraft engineers.
Despite not hearing back about the airworthiness of the propeller, Dale-Emberton decided to fly back to Queenstown with six passengers onboard. Upon landing, the aircraft was immediately grounded by the company’s owner.
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) laid charges against Dale-Emberton in 2010, but the prosecution was put on hold because he was living overseas.
CAA deputy chief executive David Harrison said the conviction highlighted the importance of aircraft damage being assessed by appropriately qualified engineers, not by pilots taking a punt.
“Taking a ‘she’ll be right’ attitude just doesn’t cut it when there’s damage to critical aircraft components such as propellers,” Harrison said. “In this case we’re lucky that there weren’t more serious consequences given the seriousness of the damage to the prop.”
Dale-Emberton no longer holds an active commercial pilot licence.
www.stuff.co.nz/national/125507556/pilot-flew-tourists-to-queenstown-in-aircraft-with-severely-damaged-propeller
Mariné Lourens
12:27, Jun 21 2021
Nathan Dale-Emberton in the Christchurch District Court. STACY SQUIRES/STUFF
A former commercial pilot who flew six tourists from Milford Sound to Queenstown despite knowing the aircraft had a severely damaged propeller, has been convicted more than a decade later of endangering his passengers.
Nathan Dale-Emberton was fined $4250 in the Christchurch District Court on Friday after he was convicted of operating an aircraft in a manner that caused unnecessary endangerment.
He was also given a $1500 fine for performing maintenance on an aircraft without holding an aircraft maintenance engineer licence.
According to a statement by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), the charges related to an incident on January 26, 2010.
Dale-Emberton was working as a senior pilot for a scenic tourist flight operator, flying tourists between Queenstown and Fiordland. The name of the company has been suppressed by the court.
While taking off from Big Bay, a beach north of Milford Sound, the aircraft’s propeller was severely damaged by stones thrown up during the takeoff run.
When Dale-Emberton had returned to Queenstown he did not inspect the aircraft or even do “a quick walkaround” to check for any damage. He then flew to Milford Sound to pick up a group of tourists.
It was only there that he noticed the damage to the aircraft’s propeller and informed the company head office.
He then attempted to minimise the damage by filing down the propeller – a maintenance task that may only be performed by qualified aircraft engineers.
Despite not hearing back about the airworthiness of the propeller, Dale-Emberton decided to fly back to Queenstown with six passengers onboard. Upon landing, the aircraft was immediately grounded by the company’s owner.
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) laid charges against Dale-Emberton in 2010, but the prosecution was put on hold because he was living overseas.
CAA deputy chief executive David Harrison said the conviction highlighted the importance of aircraft damage being assessed by appropriately qualified engineers, not by pilots taking a punt.
“Taking a ‘she’ll be right’ attitude just doesn’t cut it when there’s damage to critical aircraft components such as propellers,” Harrison said. “In this case we’re lucky that there weren’t more serious consequences given the seriousness of the damage to the prop.”
Dale-Emberton no longer holds an active commercial pilot licence.
www.stuff.co.nz/national/125507556/pilot-flew-tourists-to-queenstown-in-aircraft-with-severely-damaged-propeller
