Date:	Saturday 27 September 1958
Time:	c. 08:30
Type:	De Havilland DH-82A Tiger Moth
Owner/operator:	Aerial Agriculture Ltd
Registration:	ZK-ATL
MSN:	DHNZ92
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Aircraft missing
Location:	Missing, Hawke's Bay -   New Zealand
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Agricultural
Departure airport:	Ridgemont Station airstrip
Destination airport:	Hastings (Bridge Pa) Aerodrome, Hawkes Bay (NZHS)
Confidence Rating:	Information verified through data from accident investigation authorities

Narrative:
de Havilland DH82a Tiger Moth MSN DHNZ.92; Taken on charge as NZ842 at Unit 18, Rongotai, Wellington, 22.9.41. To Wigram [1945] for long-term storage pending disposal.

Struck off charge when sold 18.12.48 [as free issue] to Otago Aero Club. NZ civil registered as ZK-ATL 24.8.49; not used by Otago Aero Club, and sold on to R S Geddes, Willowbridge (aircraft based at Timaru). Re-registered 16.10.50 to Aerial Agriculture Ltd, Hastings. Crashed at Clarence 14.10.51; repaired and returned to service

Badly damaged on take-off Spring Hill, Waipawa 26.2.54; repaired and returned to service. Badly damaged on landing Waipawa 30.5.54; repaired and returned to service.

Badly damaged in forced landing out of fuel at Tautane, 3.5 miles North of Herbertville, Tararua District, North Island, New Zealand 16.6.56; Pilot P. Marshall.[Herbertville, earlier known as Wainui after the Wainui River, is a small settlement on the eastern coast of the Tararua District]. Repaired and returned to service.

Missing on flight from Napier 27.9.58, possibly crashed into the sea; pilot Bob Taylor killed. Pilot D'Arcy Robert 'Bob' Taylor took off at about 08:30 a.m. from Ridgemont Station in perfect flying weather on a thistle spraying operation that was intended to be the 7th and last 20-minute flight for the day before returning to base. Neither the aircraft nor its pilot has ever been seen again. Presumed to have flown out to sea and crashed, but no reasons for the actions have ever been determined.

Prior to the disappearance D'Arcy was involved in an auto accident in which resulted in a lady being admitted to hospital. The lady died. D'Arcy was quite upset and it played on his conscience.Registration ZK-ATL cancelled 15.1.59.

1. Civil Air Accident Files, Archives New Zealand
2. King, John (1995). Aviation Accidents and Disasters. New Zealand Tragedies. Wellington: Grantham House. p. 126. ISBN 1 86934 042 6.
3. http://www.adf-serials.com.au/nz-serials/nzdh82.htm
4. http://www.findlostaircraft.co.nz/zk-atl.html
5. http://archway.archives.govt.nz/ViewEntity.do?code=7333
6. https://air-britain.com/pdfs/production-lists/DH82.pdf
7. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/dh/pNZ0.html
8. http://www.flydw.org.uk/DWZKARZ.htm
9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawke%27s_Bay_Region

Other occurrences involving this aircraft

16 June 1956

ZK-ATL

Aerial Agriculture Ltd

0

Herbertville, Hawke's Bay

sub

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
22-May-2009 12:58	XLerate	Added
24-May-2009 23:38	XLerate	Updated
01-Jun-2009 06:33	angels one five	Updated
20-Jul-2009 22:17	angels one five	Updated
05-Apr-2010 00:41	angels one five	Updated [Source, Narrative]
19-May-2010 18:26	angels one five	Updated [Source, Narrative]
15-May-2011 07:20	angels one five	Updated [Date, Operator, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative]
01-Aug-2011 11:06	TB	Updated [Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Operator, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative]
26-May-2012 16:38	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Phase, Source, Narrative]
30-Jan-2018 09:06	NZ Marty	Updated [Narrative]
14-May-2019 05:14	angels one five	Updated [Location, Narrative]
08-Aug-2020 08:39	Ron Averes	Updated [Location, Damage]
01-Nov-2021 16:55	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Time, Operator, Location, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, Category]
26-Jan-2022 04:52	Ron Averes	Updated [Aircraft type, Cn]
02-Feb-2022 01:54	Ron Averes	Updated [Location]
16-Feb-2022 04:19	Ron Averes	Updated [Location]