in 1990, he was appointed Acting Chief Executive Officer and Chief Inspector of Air Accidents in the Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC), which replaced the Office of Air Accidents Investigation. In 1992, when a Chief Executive was appointed, Chippindale became the Chief Inspector of Accidents with the TAIC, an appointment he retained until his retirement on 31 October 1998. He was a member of International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) teams, which investigated the Mozambican Tupolev Tu-134 air disaster in South Africa in which the President of Mozambique lost his life, and the shooting down of three civil aircraft: Korean Air Lines Flight 007 over Russia and two United Nations (UN) L-130 aircraft in Angola. Chippindale represented New Zealand at Accident Investigation Group meetings of ICAO and drafted the ICAO circular on the provision of "Family Assistance" after an aircraft accident. He was also the New Zealand Councillor to the International Society of Air Accident Investigators and a transport accident investigation consultant. Honours and awards In 1990, Chippindale received the New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal. In 2004, he was awarded the Jerome F Lederer award for outstanding lifetime contributions in the field of aircraft accident investigation and prevention and achievement of the International Society of Air Safety Investigators' Objectives and technical excellence. In March 2007, Chippindale was one of 22 people who received a New Zealand Special Service Medal (Erebus) at a ceremony in Wellington. The medal was awarded for the work in what became known as "Operation Overdue". Death On 12 February 2008, while out on an early morning walk near his home in Porirua, 20 km north of Wellington, Chippindale was hit by an out-of-control car and was killed instantly. At the time of his death, Chippindale was an adjunct lecturer teaching "Aircraft Safety Investigations" in a three-paper series extramurally (by correspondence) at Massey University School of Aviation. References Massey University, Air Safety Investigations Handbook by Mr. R. Chippindale 1933 births 2008 deaths People from Kettering English emigrants to New Zealand People educated at Rangiora High School Royal New Zealand Air Force personnel Graduates of the Royal Air Force College Cranwell New Zealand public servants Road incident deaths in New Zealand