The Ngaruawahia based Waikato District Council has voted to stop beach access for people and dogs across Raglan Airfield. At a meeting of the Council’s powerful Infrastructure Committee on May 5th, it was decided to go ahead with what WDC calls “Raglan Aerodrome Improvement”. A majority of Waikato District councillors voted to ban walking access across the aerodrome, instead creating a trail around the airfield to the beach. Raglan ward councillor Lisa Thomson and Onewhero-Te Akau Ward councillor Carolyn Eyre voted against the recommendations, while all other councillors voted for closing the pedestrian access.
During the meeting Waikato District Mayor Allan Sanson said “He wouldn’t budge on health and safety rules. People are hazards, dogs are hazards, bikes are hazards, and I’m sorry but if I was flying into Raglan I’d want to be confident I wasn’t going to strike somebody.” The WDC project will remove pedestrian access gates at the airfield and build a 1.2 metre fence around part of the the airfield. The project originated from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) directing all aerodrome operators to review safety after two planes collided mid-air at Hood aerodrome in Masterton in 2019, killing two people.
Mayor Sanson said that people were blasé about health and safety until accidents occurred. The WDC is to commended on investigating safety at Raglan Airfield. They have overlooked the wider health and safety issues caused by operating an increasingly busy aerodrome in the middle of a public domain, a holiday park, a boat launching ramp and beach areas used for picnics and swimming. There is no mention in the WDC investigation of the plane crash at the domain on Friday 26th 2014 at 1.40pm when the area was packed with holiday makers. The Piper Cherokee plane crashed into the water about 100 metres offshore of the Papahua Domain. The plane’s engine cut out just after take off and the pilot was attempting to make it back to the airstrip. The pilot was praised for deciding to land on water instead of crash-landing among hundreds of beach-goers using the domain. It was lucky that the plane avoided the high density area of people.
Given the increasing use of the domain area by beach-goers and more flights at the aerodrome, it is no longer appropriate for an aerodrome to operate in this location. As the WDC Mayor won’t budge on safety issues, he knows what the council must do. Raglan aerodrome needs to be moved to a safe location well away from the domain and beach area.
