Ansett New Zealand Flight 703
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Ansett New Zealand Flight 703 was an Ansett New Zealand scheduled flight from Auckland Airport to Palmerston North. On June 9 1995, the Dash 8 aircraft flying this route crashed west of the Tararua Ranges and 16 km east of Palmerston North airport, during an instrument approach in bad weather. The flight was carrying 18 passengers and 3 crew members. All passengers were New Zealand citizens except for a United States citizen.
During the approach to a right turn which would place the aircraft on final approach to runway 25, the right landing gear of the aircraft failed to fully extend so the co-pilot began to manually extend it using a hydraulic pump. The aircraft's power settings had already been reduced to Flight Idle which was normal, but the aircraft was inadvertantly allowed to descend too low [link] toward the undulating terrain leading into Palmerston North.
Although the aircraft's Ground Proximity Warning System emitted an alarm four seconds before the aircraft hit the ground, the crew was unable to avoid the accident. According to the Transport Accident Investigation Commission report an audio alarm of "Terrain Terrain Whoop Whoop Pull Up" should have sounded 17 seconds before impact, but the GPWS malfunctioned.
The aircraft pancaked onto a hilltop and broke up as it slid along the ground, killing a flight attendant and three passengers and injuring all others on board. The aircraft, |) | }} }}, a de Havilland DHC-8, was manufactured in Canada.
References
- Dash 8 Down: the Inside Story of Ansett Flight 703. ISBN 1869414896. Guerin, Michael; 2001; Random House; 186pp; Paperback;
See also
- List of accidents and incidents on commercial airliners
- Air New Zealand Flight 901
- Ground Proximity Warning System
External Links
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