Is the CAA in NZ useless?

[happytraveller]

I read on the news about the latest balloon accident, this time in North Canterbury. I was very surprised to read that the findings of the CAA may never be published, even more surprised when I read that it was the Up Up and Away Balloon company. I have flown with this company years ago, but remembered that they had had fatal accidents before, in 1995, in which 3 tourists were drowned off Christchurch. I read a very interesting report in the NZ Herald>

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article....jectid=10656864

and quote from them here.

"In 2004, a Christchurch court was told Up Up and Away Ltd had been the subject of 15 complaints to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) since 1992. These including flying in fog, clipping power lines and making unscheduled landings in the middle of suburban streets in the city of Christchurch"

So there have been many complaints about this company, and even fatalities. After the Christchurch crash in 1995 I read that he was disqualified from flying for TWO MONTHS and fined NZD900.

I just wonder how the CAA in NZ can let things like this go on? It seems that even when the CAA is alerted to safety threats and problems, then often little or nothing is done. My own experience of reporting problems to the CAA is that they are just not interested until a large number of people are killed. Given that Up Up and Away has such a questionable history, then why did the CAA let them continue to operate. Just reading the report in the NZ Herald is enough to make any normal person question the logic of letting this company continue to operate. So I wonder if the CAA here is useless.

Safety is no accident, as they say. They also say prevention is better than cure. So why does the CAA not act BEFORE things like this happen??

thoughts please.

smooth landings.

[Ian Warren]

I recall the incident , Japanese tourists .. Got strickly told people to stay in the basket ( i sure as hell would have - i cant swim on the outside - do my swimming on the inside ) ... got caught by a incoming southerly , series off mistakes by both parties , the tourists could not understand English and panicked .

[chopper_nut]

Interesting. They do nothing about this and yet they seem hell bent on stomping on the little guys for relatively minor things. The Campaign Against Aviation strikes again.