Pilot f lew tourists in aircraft with badly damaged propeller
A former commercial pilot who flew six tourists from Milford Sound to Queenstown despite knowing the aircraft had a severely damaged propeller, has been convicted more than a decade later of endangering his passengers.
Nathan Dale-Emberton was fined $4250 in the Christchurch District Court on Friday after he was convicted of operating an aircraft in a manner that caused unnecess- ary endangerment. He was also fined $1500 for performing maintenance on an aircraft without holding an aircraft maintenance engineer licence.
According to a statement by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), the charges related to an incident on January 26, 2010.
Dale-Emberton was working as a senior pilot for a scenic tourist flight operator, flying tourists between Queenstown and Fiordland. The name of the company has been suppressed. While taking off from Big Bay, a beach north of Milford Sound, the aircraft’s propeller was severely damaged by stones thrown up during the takeoff run.
When Dale-Emberton returned to Queenstown he did not inspect the aircraft or even do ‘‘a quick walkaround’’ to check for any damage. He then flew to Milford Sound to pick up a group of tourists. It was only there he
noticed the damage to the propeller and informed the company head office. He then attempted to minimise the damage by filing down the propeller – a maintenance task that may only be performed by qualified aircraft engineers. Despite not hearing back about the airworthiness of the propeller, Dale-Emberton decided to fly back to Queenstown with six passengers on board. Upon landing, the aircraft was immediately grounded by the company’s owner.
CAA laid charges against Dale-Emberton in 2010 but put them on hold because he was living overseas. He no longer holds an active commercial pilot licence.