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Date: | Saturday 24 November 1973 |
Time: | after 10:40a |
Type: | AESL Airtourer 115 |
Owner/operator: | Wellington Districts Aero Club |
Registration: | ZK-CWB |
MSN: | 509 |
Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
Location: | Tararua Range, near Featherston. -
New Zealand
|
Phase: | En route |
Nature: | Ferry/positioning |
Departure airport: | Masterton |
Destination airport: | Wellington |
Confidence Rating: | Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
Narrative:Commercial pilot Gary Cooper was returning to Wellington in strong wind and turbulence, after delivering a charter passenger to Masterton. The aircraft was seen to begin a turn to the left, but the port wing dropped suddenly and it half-rolled inverted and dived steeply below a ridge. A ground party found the crash site 30 hours later, the pilot died due to head injuries from hitting the instrument panel. He was wearing only the lap strap, the crash may have been survivable if he had worn the shoulder harness.
Crash location near Smith Creek / Tauherenikau Gorge.
Sources:
1. John King, 1995, New Zealand Tragedies Aviation Accidents and Disasters, Grantham House.
2.
2. Aircraft Accident Report No. 73-141
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
28 June 1971 |
ZK-CWB |
Wellington Districts Aero Club |
|
Wellington Airport, Wellington 1 |
|
unk |
Revision history:
Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
05-Dec-2008 03:19 |
angels one five |
Added |
04-May-2009 00:47 |
XLerate |
Updated |
07-Oct-2021 10:26 |
Ron Averes |
Updated [Location, Source, Narrative] |