New Zealand tourist plane unbalanced before crash – report

A New Zealand tourist plane which crashed killing nine people in September was overloaded and unbalanced when the accident occurred, an official report found.

In the nation’s worst air accident in 17 years, the Fletcher FU24 plunged to the ground and burst into flames shortly after take-off on September 4 near Fox Glacier on the rugged west coast of New Zealand’s South Island.

The plane operated by Skydive New Zealand, was carrying a pilot, four skydive instructors and four foreign tourists. There were no survivors.

The Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC) said in an interim report that witnesses reported the plane, a single-engined converted cropduster, was almost vertical when it crashed.

They said a fine mist enveloped the plane, which had just been refuelled, before it burst into flames, the report said.

TAIC said the plane was estimated to be carrying about five kilograms more than its maximum load capacity of 2,203 kilograms during the fatal flight.