Date:	Friday 26 January 1979
Time:	day
Type:	De Havilland DH-82A Tiger Moth
Owner/operator:	I C Dittmer
Registration:	ZK-APM
MSN:	3226
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Substantial
Location:	Sea off Te Araroa, East Coast -   New Zealand
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Private
Departure airport:	Gisborne Airport, New Zealand (GIS/NGZS)
Destination airport:
Confidence Rating:	Information verified through data from accident investigation authorities

Narrative:
de Havilland DH.82A Tiger Moth MSN 3226 (Gipsy Major #5522); First civil registered as G-ACWB [C of R 5240] 21.7.34 to The London Aero Club Ltd; operated by London Aeroplane Club, Hatfield, Hertfordshire. C of A 4402 issued 14.8.34. Crashed Wigham, near Dover, Kent 23.9.38; repaired and returned to service. Withdrawn from use and stored at Hatfield by/on 3.9.39 due to outbreak of WWII and prohibition of all private civilian flying

Registration G-ACWB cancelled 25.1.40 as sold ("change of ownership of aircraft"). To RNZAF at Unit 18, RNZAF Rongotai, Wellington as NZ737 16.8.40. To 3 EFTS, RNZAF Harewood 28.8.40. Overturned on landing Harewood 9.11.41; to 2 Stores Depot, Rongotai, Wellington for repairs; reflown 7.3.41 after repairs, and returned to Harewood 21.3.41. Damaged in heavy landing Harewood 16.7.41; again to 2 Stored Depot, Rongotai, Wellington for repairs; reflown after repairs 4.11.41 and returned to Harewood 18.11.41. Heavy landing at Harewood 2.11.42; again to 2 Stored Depot, Rongotai, Wellington for repairs 9.11.42. Reflown after repairs completed 4.3.43 and returned to Harewood 12.3.43. To 2 ASU, Woodbourne 2.4.45. To 3 ASU, RNZAF Taieri 5.9.45 for long term stroage pending disposal.

Struck off charge when sold 8.4.47 to NZ Insurance Co on behalf of Marlborough Aero Club; ferried to Harewood for overhaul 4.4.47. NZ civil registered ZK-APM on 6.6.47 to Marlborough Aero Club, Omaka [as replacement for ZK-AKJ, which had crashed on 1.12.46]. Damaged in crash on landing at Blenheim in September 1947; repaired and returned to service. Badly damaged when ran away on unchocked start-up and hit parked car at Omaka 17.7.55; repaired and returned to service.

Re-registered 14.11.63 to W J Jordan, Nelson. Re-registered in 1965 to Wanganui Gliding Club for use as a glider tug. Re-registered 8.6.67 to I C Dittmer, Feilding. Spun into the Pacific Ocean off Te Araroa, near East Cape, Gisbourne District, North Island, New Zealand 26.1.79; the engine failed to respond after recovering from a spin. pilot Anthony Pratt escaped without major injury. One published source see link #10] claimed the incident occurred "while performing low level aerobatics at a Tiger Club fly-in".

Te Araroa is a town in the Gisborne Region of the North Island of New Zealand. It is situated 175 km north of Gisborne city, along State Highway 35 between Tokata and Awatere. Te Araroa sits at the base of Whetumatarau at the eastern end of Kawakawa Bay. East Cape is the easternmost point of the main islands of New Zealand. It is located at the northern end of the Gisborne District of New Zealand's North Island. It can also refer to the broader Gisborne cape.

Remains, including engine, later retrieved from sea and stored (1983). Registration ZK-APM cancelled 11.5.98 as WFU ("Withdrawn From Use"). Still stored by I C Dittmer, Featherston [1998-2011].

1. https://cwsprduksumbraco.blob.core.windows.net/g-info/HistoricalLedger/G-ACWB.pdf
2. https://air-britain.com/pdfs/production-lists/DH82.pdf
3. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/dh/p032.html
4. http://www.adf-serials.com.au/nz-serials/nzdh82.htm
5. https://steemkr.com/history/@len.george/de-havilland-dh-82a-tiger-moth-nz730-to-nz798-1939-to-1956
6. http://archway.archives.govt.nz/ViewEntity.do?code=7333
7. http://www.flydw.org.uk/DWZKAIQ.htm
8. Tiger Moth ZK-APM at Masterton New Zealand 6.2.68: https://www.airport-data.com/aircraft/photo/001012059.html
9. Tiger Moth ZK-APM various photos 1962-1975: https://abpic.co.uk/pictures/registration/ZK-APM?f=&sort=date_taken_formatted&order=asc
10. https://rnzaf.proboards.com/thread/26799/solo-1977
11. Tiger Moth ZK-APM at Tiger Club Rally at Hastings (Bridge Pa) aerodrome on 15.1.72 (Note "Snoopy" cartoon motif on nose): http://nzcivair.blogspot.com/2020/05/ron-day-remembers-when.html
12. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Cape
13. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Te_Araroa_(town)

Other occurrences involving this aircraft

17 July 1955

ZK-APM

Marlborough Aero Club

0

Omaka Aerodrome, Marlborough

sub

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
22-May-2009 12:58	XLerate	Added
09-Jan-2022 18:25	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Time, Cn, Operator, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Location, Phase, Nature, Departure airport, Source, Damage, Narrative, Category]
16-Jan-2022 05:01	Ron Averes	Updated [Location]
26-Jan-2022 04:48	Ron Averes	Updated [Aircraft type]
11-Feb-2022 19:57	Ron Averes	Updated [Location]
22-Feb-2022 23:19	Ron Averes	Updated [Departure airport]