Pilot blamed for fatal crash
Found this on the ABC website:
By New Zealand correspondent Gillian Bradford
Air safety investigators have blamed the pilot for a crash that killed eight people near Christchurch.
An inquiry has found the pilot made a mobile phone call just minutes before the plane hit the ground.
The Piper Chieftain crashed near Christchurch in June last year, killing the pilot - Michael Bannerman - and seven of the country's top scientists.
A Transport Accident Investigation Commission report has found Mr Bannerman used his mobile phone while the plane was descending.
The commission says the phone could have interfered with the aircraft's navigational equipment or led to the pilot becoming distracted.
Investigators are now calling for all small aircraft to be fitted with a terrain awareness warning system, a device that would have alerted the pilot he was getting dangerously close to the ground.