Waikato Regional Council

On 7 January 2015 a Pacific Aerospace Limited 750XL aeroplane was being used for tandem parachuting (or ‘skydiving’) operations at Taupō aerodrome. During the climb on the fourth flight of the day, the Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-34 engine failed suddenly. The 12 parachutists and the pilot baled out of the aeroplane and landed without serious injury. The aeroplane crashed into Lake Taupō and was destroyed.

Shortly after takeoff from a remote terrain located in Te Uku, near Raglan, the pilot lost control of the aircraft that collided with a fence and crashed, bursting into flames. The pilot escaped uninjured while the aircraft was destroyed by fire.

On the morning of 19 December 2003, the pilot began work about 0630 hours, flying from Te Kuiti aerodrome to an agricultural airstrip about eight nautical miles to the west. At that strip he completed a 150 tonne lime contract that had been started by two other aircraft the day before. Refuelling of the aircraft was completed approximately every hour, and the pilot stopped for a break with about four loads remaining. At 1400 hours, with the job completed, he flew to the strip from which he operated until the time of the accident. On arrival at this strip, the pilot completed a reconnaissance flight with the pilot of ZK-EMW, discussed their sowing plan, and agreed on a 1.1 tonne load with the loader driver. Take-offs were made to the south-west, landings in the opposite direction. The loader driver reported that the job was going smoothly, and that the pilot seemed in good spirits, at one stage miming wiping his brow, which the loader driver took to be a comment on the heat of the day. During this time, a third company aircraft, ZK-JAL, arrived at the strip and shut down, as the loader driver was able to handle only two aircraft at a time. The pilot of ZK-JAL flew a briefing sortie with the pilot of ZK-BXZ prior to the planned departure of ZK-BXZ. After each take-off, ZK-BXZ would turn left on to a downwind leg and then cross over the top (loading) end of the strip on the way to the sowing area. ZK-BXZ was working inward from the eastern boundary of the property, and ZK-EMW from the western boundary. While topdressing was in progress, fresh lime was being trucked to the strip and placed in the large fertilizer bin from which the loader was replenishing the aircraft. The lime was received directly from the processing plant, and was dry and free-flowing. As each load arrived, the farmer would mix a cobalt supplement with it in the bin. One of the truck drivers, who himself held a Commercial Pilot Licence (Aeroplane), took several photographs of the aircraft landing and taking off. One photograph showed ZK-BXZ leaving the end of the strip on probably its penultimate take-off, with ZK-EMW on final approach on the reciprocal heading. On this occasion ZK-EMW passed over ZK-BXZ just after the latter became airborne. The next photograph showed ZK-BXZ approximately two thirds of the way down the strip, with 20° of flap set on its final take-off, with dirt being thrown up by the wheels as it hit the soft spots in the strip. The driver did not watch the take-off beyond this point. The pilot of ZK-EMW initially reported that on his landing approach, he flew over ZK-BXZ while it was still on its take-off run. He later disputed this and claimed that ZK-BXZ had just become airborne when it disappeared from view under his right wing. In any event, ZK-BXZ only flew approximately 170 metres, so the proximity of these two aircraft was very close if ZK-BXZ was already airborne at this point in time. The close proximity of the two aircraft is significant as it is possible that ZKBXZ, being the lower of the two aircraft, may have encountered wake turbulence from ZK-EMW. All aircraft produce wake turbulence as a by-product of generating lift from their wings, the intensity varying with the aircraft’s speed, weight and configuration. The weather conditions, as discussed in the article appended to this report, were favourable for ZK-BXZ to encounter the wake vortices from the aircraft passing above. The first indication of the accident was a loud bang heard by the farmer – he was in the bin mixing in the cobalt supplement, and initially thought he had heard a truck tailgate slamming. Looking towards the end of the strip, he saw a plume of smoke and immediately went by motorcycle to investigate. On arrival at the scene, he found the aeroplane well ablaze, and was unable to get close because of the heat. As the accident occurred, a fourth company aircraft, ZK-EGV, arrived at the strip. The pilot did not see the actual impact, but flew over the burning wreckage on approach. As soon as he landed he went by foot to the accident site, as he had arrived too late to join those that had gone on board the loading vehicle. The loader driver used his fire extinguisher to quell the flames, but could do nothing to assist the pilot. After the extinguisher ran out, the fire flared up again, and all those present could do was to await the arrival of the Fire Service. The accident occurred in daylight, at approximately 1500 hours NZDT, at Mairoa, 10 nm south-west of Te Kuiti aerodrome, at an elevation of 1150 ft. Latitude: S 38° 22.9', longitude: E 174° 57.0'; grid reference: 260-R16-806117.

About 0900 hours on 24 July 2002, the pilot commenced spraying operations on flat farmland in the Orongo area, some three kilometres to the south-west of Thames Aerodrome. Loading for the operation was carried out at Thames by the pilot’s father, who as an experienced agricultural pilot, was also acting in a supervisory role. The pilot had only recently qualified for spraying, all his previous agricultural experience being topdressing. Spraying was stopped about 1210 hours because of unsuitable wind conditions, and both pilot and loader driver took a break for lunch at the loader driver’s home. Conditions improved after lunch, and spraying was restarted at 1350 hours, the pilot finishing the remaining treatment of the first property. The second property was started at 1420. The long axes of the paddocks on this property were aligned approximately north-west/south-east, and the pilot carried out his spray runs at right angles to the general alignment, progressively covering several paddocks on each run. The beginning of the runs was delineated by a row of about 30 mature trees of various species, over which the pilot had to descend on a south-westerly heading. On completion of the main part of the property, the pilot was left with one paddock on the other side of the trees. At the north-western end of this paddock was a barn and stockyards. On the first run over this paddock, the pilot approached over the barn and made the first spray run to the south-east. He was seen to make a 180-degree reversal turn and align the aircraft with the left (looking north-west) boundary of the paddock, in close proximity to the trees. On this heading, he was flying into the sun and towards the barn. Part -way into this run the left wing outer panel struck a protruding branch and part of the aileron was torn off. Further collisions occurred as the aircraft progressed along the tree line. The aircraft rolled inverted, struck the ground and slid to a halt with the engine still running. The farmer and his partner were driving separately along the nearby road, towards the barn when the accident happened. The farmer continued to the scene while his partner went to a neighbour’s house to alert emergency services. Arriving at the aircraft, the farmer quickly realised that there was nothing he could do for the pilot. The accident occurred in daylight, at approximately 1450 hours NZST, at Orongo, at an elevation of 10 feet. Grid reference: 260-T12-347440; latitude S 37° 10.7', longitude E 175° 31.6'.

The pilot, sole on board, was engaged in a local crop spraying mission. During the takeoff roll, the aircraft encountered difficulties to gain speed. The pilot suspected problems with the parking brake and after liftoff, the aircraft lost height and crashed to the left of the departure area. The pilot escaped uninjured while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

Sole on board, the pilot was engaged in a crop spraying mission in the region of Taupo. Shortly after takeoff, while climbing at low height, the pilot initiated a right turn when the aircraft lost height and crashed in a pasture about 11 km northeast of Taupo. The aircraft was destroyed and the pilot was seriously injured.

The aircraft departed Hamilton Airport runway 36 on a scheduled service to New Plymouth on behalf of Eagle Airways. Six minutes after takeoff, while climbing to an altitude of 5,000 feet, the crew informed ATC about the failure of the left engine and was cleared to return for an emergency landing. Four minutes later, the right turn failed as well. The airplane lost height and crashed in an open field located 9 km from Hamilton Airport. All six occupants were killed.

Shortly after takeoff from Mangakino, while climbing, the single engine aircraft collided with power cables and crashed in a field. The pilot was injured.

The day's operation commenced at about 06:30 with the student flying and the instructor operating the loader.The intention was to fly for two hours when a break would be taken in order to rest the trainee pilot, check the fuel state, and review the sowing operation so far. Shortly before 08:20 the trainee took off on what was about the twentieth sowing flight of the day. The Fletcher was loaded with 19 hundredweight (cwt) or 965 kg of lime in the hopper. The usual pattern was flown and the aircraft was positioned for a sowing run along a ridge face at about 100 feet AGL. However, on this run no lime was dropped and at about the usual commencement point for sowing the aircraft made a sharp turn to the left and flew out over level ground, away from the ridge. After turning through about 120 degrees the plane pitched nose-down suddenly and dived almost vertically into the ground. It bounced over a hedge and came to rest 10 metres beyond the initial point of impact. This was not a survivable crash. Despite the spillage of considerable fuel no fire broke out. The flying weather was calm with good visibility. Weather was not a factor in this accident.

The single engine aircraft crashed in unknown circumstances in Wairakei. The pilot, sole on board, was killed.