A fatal aircraft collision north of Wellington may have  been prevented if a safety recommendation made 12 years earlier had been put in place, the chief crash investigator says.

 A helicopter flown by student James David Taylor, 19, with experienced rescue pilot David Fielding, 30, as his instructor, and a Cessna piloted by Bevan Andrew Hookway, 17, collided over Paraparaumu on February 17 last year, killing all three.

The helicopter fell through the roof of Paraparaumu's Placemakers store, just missing staff and customers, while the plane's fuselage landed about 250m away in Dennis Taylor Court, with its engine crashing through a house roof.

A report released by the Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC) said the airport's parallel runways made mid-air collisions a well recognised risk.

A 1996 safety review by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) identified numerous safety issues and made a list of recommendations including changes to the takeoff and landing procedure known as overhead joining.

The recommendation was not actioned. More

Originally from TVNZ.co.nz | By NZPA |  October 1, 2009