ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 64333
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| Date: | Wednesday 2 February 1966 |
| Time: | c. 14:30 |
| Type: |  Cessna 172B Skyhawk |
| Owner/operator: | Gisborne Aero Club |
| Registration: | ZK-CAB |
| MSN: | 48418 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Pehiri, East Coast -
 New Zealand
|
| Phase: | Initial climb |
| Nature: | Passenger |
| Departure airport: | Wairoa NZWO |
| Gisborne NZGS | |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information verified through data from accident investigation authorities |
Pilot Robert Dudley Willis (26) and passenger David Salvadore Zame (16) killed in a flying accident. R.I.P.
The Cessna had departed Gisborne earlier in the afternoon to take a fare-paying passenger to Wairoa.
On the return flight to Gisborne, now with 2 POB, the pilot and a student pilot, both Gisborne Aero Club members, the plane was seen making a practice approach and overshoot to the sloping agricultural airstrip at Ballantrae Station, Pehiri. The climb away from the strip was commenced at a low level and with the flaps raised. A flying instructor watching from the ground saw the flaps being lowered on the climb until they were fully extended. The plane appeared to be struggling to clear the ridge not far from the end of the airstrip. The aircraft was seen to side-slip to the left and then to the right, at which point it struck the side of the ridge heavily and fell some ten metres into a dry watercourse. The aircraft was wrecked by these impacts and a small fire broke out. Both occupants were believed to have been killed instantly.
The flying instructor witness was able to remove the body of the passenger, but while he was doing so the blaze suddenly increased in intensity and he was unable to remove the pilot before the fire completely took hold.
The weather was CAVU with a westerly breeze of 7 to 8 knots and gusting to 15 knots which would have produced a light downdraft over the lee side of the ridge, the area where the crash occurred. The temperature was about 80 degrees F. or 26 degrees C.
The Aircraft Accident Investigator concluded that the Cessna stalled and crashed due to spatial disorientation of the pilot and a faulty flying technique in a position and at a height which precluded a recovery before the aircraft struck the ground.
Sources:
http://archway.archives.govt.nz/ViewEntity.do?code=7333
Aircraft Accident Report No. 25/3/1592
https://photonews.org.nz/gisborne/issue/GPN140_19660223/t1-body-d10.html
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 22-May-2009 12:58 | XLerate | Added |
| 10-Jan-2017 04:17 | angels one five | Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Cn, Operator, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Location, Phase, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Damage, Narrative] |
| 14-Mar-2017 18:26 | angels one five | Updated [Source] |
| 06-Apr-2017 13:00 | angels one five | Updated [Narrative] |
| 19-Feb-2022 02:24 | Ron Averes | Updated [Location] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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