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Northland Regional Council

Crash of a Fletcher FU-24 in Wekaweka

Date & Time: Apr 11, 1962
Type of aircraft:
Fletcher FU-24
Operator:
Registration:
ZK-BIE
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Spraying (Agricultural)
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Plain, Valley
MSN:
32
YOM:
1956
Location:
Wekaweka
Northland Regional Council
Country:
New Zealand
Region:
Oceania
Crew on board:
1
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
Crashed in unknown circumstances in Wekaweka while performing a crop spraying mission. The pilot was injured and the aircraft was written off.

Crash of a Fletcher FU-24 in Parakao

Date & Time: Mar 20, 1962
Type of aircraft:
Fletcher FU-24
Operator:
Registration:
ZK-BHB
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Spraying (Agricultural)
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Plain, Valley
MSN:
3
Location:
Parakao
Northland Regional Council
Country:
New Zealand
Region:
Oceania
Crew on board:
1
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
Crashed in unknown circumstances while performing a crop spraying mission. The pilot was injured and the aircraft was written off.

Crash of a Fletcher FU-24 in Waipu: 1 killed

Date & Time: Feb 5, 1961 at 1015 LT
Type of aircraft:
Fletcher FU-24
Operator:
Registration:
ZK-BHF
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Spraying (Agricultural)
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Waipu - Waipu
MSN:
8
YOM:
1954
Location:
Waipu
Northland Regional Council
Country:
New Zealand
Region:
Oceania
Crew on board:
1
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
1
Circumstances:
The aircraft was engaged in an aerial work operation, spreading superphosphate. On landing after the 35th sortie of the day the pilot reported to his loader driver that the elevator was sticking and tending to jam when the control column was pulled back to near the stop. The loader driver crawled into the rear interior of the fuselage, making a visual check of the elevator cables and pulleys as the pilot operated the elevator control. A small curl of 16-gauge metal, about 1/4 inch high, was found in the lower elevator pulley and removed. The pilot confirmed the operation of the elevator was now satisfactory and flying was resumed. At 10:15 the loader driver noticed that the noise of the aircraft had ceased and looking around saw the Fletcher lying wrecked on the summit of a ridge. The aircraft had dived into the ground at an attitude that was slightly over the vertical. All the wreckage, with the exception of the nose wheel, was confined to the immediate area of the point of impact. A witness mark on the dial of the ASI showed that the impact with the ground had occurred at a speed of 127 mph. There was no fire. The pilot Trevor Robert Wilson was killed.
Source: https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=63318
Probable cause:
The integrity of the rudder and aileron systems was established. The upper elevator cable was intact but the lower cable was severed 12 inches from the eyebolt attachment to the counterbalance. The investigation found that a loose No. 6 PK screw had found its way into the lower elevator pulley groove when the plane was in a slight nose down attitude. When the pilot applied back pressure on the control column to raise the nose the screw had become jammed between the cable and the pulley guard pin. This had caused the elevator to lock, and the pilot's attempt to recover from the steepening dive had easily generated sufficient pressure for the sharp edge of the head of the screw to sever the cable.

Crash of a Fletcher FU-24 in Glenbervie

Date & Time: Feb 16, 1960
Type of aircraft:
Fletcher FU-24
Operator:
Registration:
ZK-BIA
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Spraying (Agricultural)
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Plain, Valley
MSN:
28
YOM:
1956
Location:
Glenbervie
Northland Regional Council
Country:
New Zealand
Region:
Oceania
Crew on board:
1
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
Crashed in unknown circumstances while performing a crop spraying mission. The pilot, sole on board, was injured.

Crash of a Fletcher FU-24 in Dargaville

Date & Time: Mar 5, 1959
Type of aircraft:
Fletcher FU-24
Operator:
Registration:
ZK-BIY
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Spraying (Agricultural)
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Plain, Valley
MSN:
51
YOM:
1957
Location:
Dargaville
Northland Regional Council
Country:
New Zealand
Region:
Oceania
Crew on board:
1
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
Crashed in unknown circumstances in Dargaville while completing a crop spraying mission. The pilot was injured and the aircraft was destroyed.

Crash of a Waco UIC off Whangarei: 1 killed

Date & Time: Sep 29, 1957 at 1515 LT
Type of aircraft:
Waco UIC
Operator:
Registration:
ZK-ALG
Flight Phase:
Takeoff (climb)
Flight Type:
Charter/Taxi (Non Scheduled Revenue Flight)
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Lake, Sea, Ocean, River
Schedule:
Whangarei - Whangarei
MSN:
3820
Location:
Whangarei
Northland Regional Council
Country:
New Zealand
Region:
Oceania
Crew on board:
1
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
4
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
1
Circumstances:
The airplane was engaged in a local sightseeing flight over the region of Whangarei, carrying one pilot, two adults, a mother and her one year-old baby. After takeoff, while climbing to a height of 300 feet, the engine failed. The pilot made a turn to the left, reduced his altitude and decided to return to the airport. He elected several times to restart the engine but without success. Eventually, he was forced to ditch the aircraft that crashed into the Whangarei harbor. The pilot evacuated the cabin and was able to assist both adults and the baby but unfortunately, the woman was trapped and could not be saved. The aircraft was lost.
Probable cause:
It was determined that the accident was caused by an engine failure due to the following factors:
- The engine failure was caused by a fuel starvation,
- The fuel starvation was caused by the petrol in the tank in use being forced to the outward end of the tank, thus vacating the tank outlets,
- The movement of the petrol away from the tank outlets was caused by a state of unbalanced flight,
- The state of unbalanced flight was caused either by corrective control to overcome the left wing low tendency, or by uncoordinated control during take-off,
- Underlying the causation factors is the inherent risk created by the design of the petrol system when the aircraft was flown on one partially-filled tank.

Crash of a Fletcher FU-24 in Ngataki: 1 killed

Date & Time: Apr 13, 1957
Type of aircraft:
Fletcher FU-24
Operator:
Advance Aviation (New Zealand)
Registration:
ZK-BIQ
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Spraying (Agricultural)
Survivors:
No
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Ngataki - Ngataki
MSN:
44
YOM:
1957
Location:
Ngataki
Northland Regional Council
Country:
New Zealand
Region:
Oceania
Crew on board:
1
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
1
Circumstances:
Crashed in unknown circumstances at Ngataki while performing fumigations. The pilot H. J. Duinstra was killed.

Crash of a Lockheed L-414 Hudson III in Waipapakauri AFB: 2 killed

Date & Time: May 6, 1943 at 0550 LT
Type of aircraft:
Lockheed L-414 Hudson
Operator:
Registration:
NZ2064
Flight Phase:
Takeoff (climb)
Flight Type:
Training
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Airport (less than 10 km from airport)
Schedule:
Waipapakauri - Waipapakauri
MSN:
414-6510
YOM:
1942
Location:
Waipapakauri AFB (Kaitaia)
Northland Regional Council
Country:
New Zealand
Region:
Oceania
Crew on board:
4
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
2
Circumstances:
Shortly after take off from Waipapakauri AFB, while in initial climb, the aircraft stalled and crashed in a pond. Two crew members were killed while two others were seriously injured.
Crew (1st Squadron):
Sgt William Nicholls, †
P/O Ronald Triner, †
F/O B. Scott,
Sgt R. Black.
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