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WELLINGTON, New Zealand – A skydiving plane that crashed near a New Zealand glacier in 2010,killing nine people, was overloaded because modifications for it tocarry passengers were poorly managed, investigators concluded. The report has prompted one victim's father to claim New Zealand'spopular adventure-tourism industry is unsafe — a claim NewZealand's Prime Minister John Key has rejected. The small plane had been modified from agricultural to skydivinguse three months before it crashed near Fox Glacier airfield onSept. 4, 2010. But owner Skydive New Zealand failed to calculatethe proper weight changes before flying the modified aircraft, theTransport Accident Investigation Commission concluded in itsreport, released Wednesday. It was 17 kilograms (37 pounds) over the weight limit when itcrashed and too much of the weight was at the rear of the plane,investigators said. A father of one of the tourists on board blamed the crash on laxNew Zealand safety enforcement and a legal system that essentiallyprevents people from suing for negligence. "To people thinking of going to New Zealand on an adrenaline sport,think twice," Chris Coker of Britain told the BBC. His son, BradleyCoker, was 24. Adventure tourism is a major economic driver in New Zealand. About2.6 million visit each year, with one-third participating in anadventure sport such as bungy jumping, skydiving or jet-boating,according to government statistics. Key's press secretary Kevin Taylor said recent industry reviewshave improved safety. "While the prime minister understands this is small comfort to Mr.Coker's family, visitors to New Zealand can be assured that we takesafety extremely seriously," Taylor wrote in an email. "New Zealandis renowned for its adventure tourism activities and, while we willalways try to mitigate this risk, it can never be eliminated." University of Auckland law professor Paul Rishworth said NewZealand's accident compensation laws ensure accident victimsreceive compensation while removing the "lottery" of civillawsuits. He said the system may result in companies having lessincentive to follow safety rules, although the threat of criminalproceedings also acts as a deterrent. In an interim report on a separate crash, investigators saidThursday the pilot of a hot-air balloon that crashed into powerlines in January had used marijuana. The investigators did notissue findings on whether his drug-taking contributed to the crash,which killed 11 people. Investigators are recommending New Zealand introduce mandatory drugtesting for all drivers and pilots in positions of responsibility,an idea the country's transport agency has so far rejected. I am an expert from personalizedfridgemagnet.com, while we provides the quality product, such as Magnetic Bookmarks , Sticky Magnetic Strips, Rubber Magnetic Strip,and more.
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