An interim report into the factual circumstances of the Fox Glacier skydiving plane crash which killed nine people last month is expected to be released by the Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC) next month.
TAIC chief investigator of accidents Captain Tim Burfoot said the interim report which would effectively confirm the factual findings and circumstances of the Fox Glacier airfield accident was close to completion.
"The commission will deliberate over the report for the next week or so. If it is approved, it will be released sometime in early November," he said.
The TAIC investigation and conclusive report into the Fox Glacier airfield accident, involving a Fletcher FU24 aircraft which crashed shortly after takeoff, is hoped to be completed by July next year.
The aircraft's pilot - former Queenstown resident Chaminda Senadhira - and eight skydiving passengers, four of whom were Fox Glacier residents, died in the crash.
A team of six TAIC and Civil Aviation Authority investigators were involved in the initial stages of the inquiry.
The interim report would "lay out the facts as we know them" but would not contain any analysis or conclusions about the accident, Capt Burfoot said.
An emergency airworthiness directive was issued by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) shortly after the accident for the amendment of aircraft manuals of Fletcher FU24s being used for skydiving operations.
The CAA, after discussions with the commission, issued the directive limiting the aircraft to carrying a maximum of six skydivers plus the pilot on any mission.
A requirement for centre of gravity calculations to be done for each flight using the actual weights of passengers and equipment was also issued as part of the directive.
The "precautionary" directive should not be interpreted as confirming the cause of the accident, Capt Burfoot said.
