• The Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC) has found “distracted” and “stressed” staff failed to carry out necessary pre-flight checks before a flight from Sydney to Auckland in June 2022.
• As a result, a key fuel pump was never switched on, meaning had the plane needed to circle before landing in Auckland, it would probably have run out of fuel leading to engine failure.
• The weather was bad the night of the flight, meaning the need to circle was a “real possibility”.

A cargo plane faced the risk of its engines failing in the skies above Auckland and crashing because the Boeing aircraft’s crew did not turn on a key fuel pump.

The Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC) released a report on the June 2022 incident today and said it was likely the crew erred because they were distracted.

When the Boeing 737 landed at Auckland International Airport from Sydney, the crew noticed there was still 4000 kilograms of fuel in one tank, the central tank, while the other main tanks that were feeding the engines were almost empty.

A Boeing 737 risked its engines failing above Auckland in June 2022 and crashing. The Transport Accident Investigation Commission has found the crew at fault.

The crew realised the correct fuel pumps had been turned off the whole flight. The pumps should have been turned on during the start procedure at Sydney, the TAIC said.

The night of the flight, the weather around New Zealand was bad and visibility for pilots was low.

The commission said it was a “real possibility” the flight would have had to circle the sky before it would be safe to land. If this possibility had eventuated, “it’s likely that the fuel in the main tanks would have run dry leading to engine failure during the manoeuvre”.

It also found the flight plans and nominated alternate aerodromes, standard procedure before flying in case of poor weather conditions, were “not compliant with regulatory or company flight-planning requirements”.

The commission said, “the operator [Airwork Flight Operation Limited’s] ... staff had not provided weather updates and flight planning for the flight as prescribed in their manuals”.

A Boeing 737 risked its engines failing above Auckland in June 2022 and crashing. The Transport Accident Investigation Commission has found the crew at fault.

The TAIC outlined what it saw as the problems: “Pilots need to ensure that procedures and checklists involving critical aircraft systems are completed with rigour and be aware of potential distractions.

“Operational staff need to follow the procedures detailed in their manuals to provide support to the flight crew for extended-range flights.

“[And] pilots should ensure that flight plans for their flights are compliant with operator and regulatory procedures for alternate aerodrome planning.”

The TAIC said the aircraft’s crew were likely distracted during pre-flight checks because they had just been told the runway they would be using had changed and the curfew for take-offs was approaching and was stressing them.

The TAIC said Airworks had since updated their pre-flight checklist procedure and improved crew training. Airworks also now alerts flight control centre staff to new weather information, the TAIC said.

Raphael Franks is an Auckland-based reporter who covers breaking news. He joined the Herald as a Te Rito cadet in 2022.