AVIATION/ AIR NELSON FL8441 PAX KEPT IN DARK

The Pilot of the AIR NELSON Dash 8-300 which nosedived into the tarmac after landing at Blenheim, New Zealand, yesterday when the nose wheel collapsed, knew there was a problem with the landing gear but believed it was locked down. Flight 8441, on Domestic Service on behalf of AIR NEW ZEALAND from Wellington to Nelson, had been diverted from landing at Nelson because of poor weather when it ploughed along the runway at Blenheim. There were no injuries to the 46 passengers and 3 crew members onboard. Passengers said they were not warned of any danger. A man who was on the flight said there was a squelchy noise when the aircraft's nose came down and the passengers only knew there was a problem when they saw an ambulance and fire engine making their way towards the aircraft. He said it was not until passengers disembarked that they saw how serious it was. He said the Pilot told him afterward that he did not realise there was a problem with the nose wheel locking until they got to Blenheim. He had tried a secondary process which showed the gear had locked down so he proceeded to land after notifying Emergency Services. New Zealand's Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC) is investigating. Aircraft maker Bombardier said the incident was the 3rd of its kind worldwide in less than a week. But a Bombardier spokesman said  the landing gear failures were not connected as they involved 3 different aircraft types and 2 different landing-gear suppliers. The incident follows an emergency landing by Bombardier CRJ200 into Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on Tuesday after only 2 of the 3 sets of landing gear would lower. And last Saturday, a CRJ900 jetliner made an emergency landing at JFK in New York because of a problem with its landing gear. "We don't believe the incident is linked with those overseas at this stage so we are not looking at that aspect," a TAIC air accident investigator said.