If you are a pilot-in-command and you do not follow the rules about telling people when you break civil aviation laws during an emergency, you can get in trouble. You must have a good reason for not following these rules, which are in section 15(2) and section 16(3). If you do not have a good reason, you can be charged with an offence and have to pay a fine of up to $15,000 if you are found guilty.

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This page was last updated on 29 June 2025

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS49739.

Topics:

Transport and travel > Air travel

16: Duties of pilot-in-command and operator in emergencies not arising in flight, or

"What to do if you're in charge of a plane and there's a ground emergency"

18: Identification of pilot-in-command, or

"Telling who is in charge of a plane when a rule is broken"

Part 2Functions, powers, and duties of participants in civil aviation system
Aviation participants: Provisions relating to pilots-in-command

17Failure to notify emergency breach of civil aviation legislation

A pilot-in-command who, without reasonable excuse, fails to comply with section 15(2) or 16(3) (which relate to the notification of breaches of civil aviation legislation that are committed during an emergency) commits an offence.
A person who commits an offence against subsection (1) is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $15,000.

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1990 No 98 s 52A