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On 7 January 2012, a scenic hot air balloon flight from Carterton, New Zealand, collided with a high voltage power line while attempting to land, causing it to catch fire, disintegrate and crash just north of the town, killing all eleven people (ten passengers and the pilot) on board. An inquiry into the accident by the Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC) concluded that the balloon pilot made an error of judgement when contact with the power lines became imminent, trying to out-climb the power lines rather than using the rapid descent system to drop the balloon quickly to the ground below. Toxicology analysis of the balloon pilot after the accident tested positive for tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), suggesting he may have been under the influence of cannabis at the time of the crash, which ultimately lead to the error of judgement. It was the sixth accident in ten years the TAIC had investigated (the TAIC also investigates marine and rail accidents) which involved key people testing positive for drugs or alcohol, and it has called for the Government to enact stricter measures in regards to drug and alcohol use in the aviation, marine and rail industries. The crash was the deadliest air disaster to occur in mainland New Zealand since the July 1963 crash of New Zealand National Airways Corporation Flight 441 in the Kaimai Ranges, and the deadliest crash involving a New Zealand aircraft since the November 1979 crash of Air New Zealand Flight 901 into Mount Erebus.〔 it is the third-deadliest hot air balloon disaster on record after a 2013 balloon crash in Egypt that killed 19 people, and the 1989 crash in the Northern Territory, Australia that killed 13. ==Background== The balloon was a Cameron A-210 model, registered ZK-XXF and named ''Mr Big''. The envelope was manufactured in the United Kingdom in 1997, and was initially used in the United Kingdom before being purchased and imported into New Zealand by Early Morning Balloons Ltd in 2001. The basket and burner system, capable of carrying ten passengers plus pilot, were manufactured in 1989 and were previously used with a Thunder and Colt 160A envelope before the envelope was retired at the end of its useful life〔TAIC interim report, p. 19〕 The balloon took off at 6:38 am from its launching area in Carterton, a town of 4100 people in north-eastern Wellington Region, on a 45-minute scenic flight over the Carterton area, carrying ten passengers.〔TAIC Final Report, para. 3.1.6〕 The Masterton-based pilot was one of New Zealand's most experienced balloon pilots, with more than 10,000 hours flying time, and was the safety officer for the "Balloons over Wairarapa" hot air balloon festival, held annually in March around the Carterton and Masterton area. The ten passengers were all from the greater Wellington Region: two husband-and-wife couples from Masterton and Wellington, a couple from Lower Hutt, a boyfriend and girlfriend from Wellington, and two cousins from Masterton and Paraparaumu. At the time, the weather was clear, with sufficient light and little wind.〔 Data collected from weather stations at six nearby vineyards confirmed that the wind was mostly calm with occasional gusts up to from the north-east.〔TAIC Interim Report p.9〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「2012 Carterton hot air balloon crash」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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