NZ aviation regulator tightens skydive rules - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
NZ aviation regulator tightens skydive rules
By New Zealand correspondent Dominique Schwartz
Posted Tue Sep 14, 2010 6:36pm AEST
New Zealand's civil aviation authority is restricting the number of skydivers a plane can carry just 10 days after a deadly crash at Fox Glacier.
Eight passengers and the pilot died when the plane came down shortly after take off.
Australian Adam Bennett was among the eight passengers on board the ill-fated Fletcher FU24.
The civil aviation authority says skydive operators using such planes will now be allowed to carry only six passengers and that all parachutists and their equipment must be weighed.
The authority has raised concerns about weight distribution in skydiving planes, but transport accident investigators say the directive is precautionary and the cause of the Fox Glacier crash is still to be determined.
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