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| Date: | Wednesday 6 December 1972 |
| Time: | 14:55 |
| Type: |  de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver |
| Owner/operator: | Fieldair Ltd |
| Registration: | ZK-CZO |
| MSN: | 1533 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Te Karaka, East Coast -
 New Zealand
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Agricultural |
| Departure airport: | Airstrip at Te Karaka |
| Gisborne Aerodrome (NZGS) | |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information verified through data from accident investigation authorities |
The Beaver was returning to home base in company with another aircraft at the end of a topdressing operation when it was seen to turn steeply to starboard and dive into the ground.
An examination of the wreck revealed nothing that could have caused the pilot Alex Williams to lose control of the aircraft.
It was concluded that the pilot had been suddenly incapacitated while in flight. A post mortem examination showed three separate medical conditions, which had they been known about by the Civil Aviation medical authorities, could have resulted in the pilot being assessed as unfit for flying duties.
At the time of his death Mr Williams had just completed 20,000 hours in the air, a remarkable achievement.
Sources:
http://archway.archives.govt.nz/ViewEntity.do?code=7333
Aircraft Accident Report No. 72-118.
http://www.dhc-2.com/cn1533.html
Images:
At the crash site with DCA investigator. I was his helper
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 22-May-2009 12:58 | XLerate | Added |
| 07-Jul-2009 04:13 | Ian Alexander | Updated |
| 07-Jul-2009 04:13 | Anon. | Updated |
| 01-Apr-2010 13:40 | angels one five | Updated [Date, Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Operator, Location, Phase, Nature, Narrative, ] |
| 19-Oct-2010 01:19 | angels one five | Updated [Other fatalities, Phase, Nature, Narrative, ] |
| 02-Jun-2011 03:59 | angels one five | Updated [Time, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 16-Jul-2011 13:00 | TB | Updated [Time, Registration, Cn, Operator, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 29-Dec-2011 22:55 | angels one five | Updated [Operator, Location, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 19-Feb-2014 14:15 | TB | Updated [Location, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 23-May-2018 21:54 | Ron Averes | Updated [Location, ] |
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