Tuesday, 12 February 2008200802121010
Erebus air investigator killed by car
LATEST: Retired chief air accident investigator Ronald Chippendale, who wrote a controversial report of the Erebus disaster, was hit and killed by a car this morning.
Mr Chippendale, 75, was struck by a car which went out of control in Porirua, north of Wellington, at 7.25am.
As chief inspector of air accidents, Mr Chippendale wrote a report on the 1979 Air New Zealand DC10 crash at Mt Erebus, Antarctica.
However Mr Chippendale's report, which blamed the crash on pilot error, was contested by a subsequent report by Justice Mahon.
In this morning's crash, an 18-year-old Porirua man allegedly lost control of his car while driving up Whitford Brown Avenue and ploughed into Mr Chippendale as he was walking on the footpath.
Mr Chippendale, who was returning to his Aotea home from his usual early morning walk, was killed instantly.
Air New Zealand Flight TE901 ploughed into the northern slopes of Mt Erebus on November 28, 1979. It killed all 237 passengers and a crew of 20, working under Captain Jim Collins.
Mr Chippendale, after a six-month inquiry as Chief Inspector of Air Accidents, blamed the aircrew.
He said Collins had erred by flying at low altitude in conditions which made it hard to define the ground and the horizon, and when the crew was not certain of their position.
However, a Royal Commission chaired by Justice Mahon, which reported a year later, fingered the airline.
On the night before the flight the flight track was changed in the plane's navigation system without the crew being told; the route went across Erebus and not over the flat sea ice of McMurdo Sound, the flight path for the earlier trips.
Mahon was also critical of the Civil Aviation Division. He caused a huge furore when he accused Air New Zealand of "a pre-determined plan of deception" and "an orchestrated litany of lies".
The Appeal Court later said these findings of Justice Mahon went beyond his jurisdiction and didn't comply with natural justice.
Almost 30 years later, debate over the primary cause of the crash continued.
Kapiti Mana Area police commander Inspector John Spence said today that the driver involved in the crash was shaken but uninjured.
He has been interviewed and it is likely that serious charges will follow once the investigation has been completed.
"Mr Chippendale was a keen walker and could be seen most days striding out in the Aotea and Papakowhai areas," Mr Spence said. "The circumstances of his death are a real tragedy."
Porirua Police are appealing for witnesses to the crash. Officers would also like to talk with a man and woman who stopped and helped the driver out of his car.
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