Agricultural crash near Raglan

[Peter Lewis]

Pilot escapes firey crash
Firefighters extinguishing flames after top dressing plane crash near Raglan in Waikato; pilot escapes injury

31 January 2008
A top dressing plane has crashed and burst into flames near Raglan, in the Waikato.

The pilot managed to scramble to safety but firefighters are still trying to extinguish the flames.

The plane was carrying 400 litres of fuel.

home.nzcity.co.nz/news/article.aspx?id=80958&fm=psp,nwl

[flyjoe180]

Was full of lime too. Does lime burn?

CAA investigates fiery plane crash
12:36PM Thursday January 31, 2008

The Civil Aviation Authority is investigating this morning's air crash in which the pilot jumped clear just before his plane burst into flames.

Constable Jason Kahika said the top dressing pilot had a lucky escape when he lost power on take off at a Te Uku farm, east of Raglan, about 6.30am.

"The pilot has been taking off down a slopping hill with his aircraft loaded with lime when he's suffered a power loss."

Mr Kahika said the pilot was faced with dumping his load and trying to continue to fly with what little power he had, or aborting the take off.

He ended up steering into a fence to try to slow down.

Initial indications were that as the aircraft made contact with the fence a fuel line was ruptured by a strainer post. When leaking fuel contacted the engine the plane caught fire.

It had about 400 litres of aviation fuel aboard at the time.

"The fire has engulfed the plane but the pilot managed to get out in time.

"In fact he was uninjured until he scratched himself pulling the pin out of one of two extinguishers he used to try and douse the flames," Mr Kahika said.

Raglan chief fire officer Kevin Holmes said the man was "extremely lucky" to be alive.

"It's every pilot's worst nightmare, to be flying a plane and have something mechanically go wrong, but fortunately he was still on the ground," Mr Holmes said.

He said he knew the man personally and that he was an experienced pilot.

"He pretty much put the plane through the fence to stop it," Mr Holmes said.

But by the time the plane burst into flames, the pilot was well clear of the scene.

Six fire appliances attended the blaze and used foam to douse the flames.

- NZPA / NZHERALD STAFF

www.nzherald.co.nz/location/story.cfm?l_id=500615&objectid=10489803

[hairy]

ZK-JNX

NZ Aerospace FU24-954 (c/n275)
Super Air Ltd.
Hamilton

I see its had a pretty chequered life, from
www.dave.wise.btinternet.co.uk/DWFletcher.htm

275 FU24-954 1/80 ZK-JAC wfu cx 9/98 rest as ZK-JNX 12/01 ditched Hicks Bay 7/04 cx

Good to see the pilot got out okay.

[flyjoe180]

JNX appeared in the latest CAA VEctor magazine for the summary of that 2004 incident at Hicks Bay. Maybe JNX stands for Jinx?

[hairy]

It also went off a strip near Rotorua with "substantial" damage 6th March 2005.

In Vector Jan/Feb 2007.

I think JiNX is apt.

[hairy]

Would you believe it is also mentioned in the Nov/Dec 2007 Vector for an incident on 16 Apr '07, again with substantial damage.

[Dave Homewood]

Super Air is having a lot of problems with their aircraft lately, aren't they? There have been two fatal crashes with their aircraft in recent times too. The photos of today's crash show the pilot was very lucky he wasn't a third fatality.

[fletcherfu24]

Super Air is also the largest topdressing company in NZ,so they are more likely to have the most incidents on a numerical basis.
Still another Fletcher goes west.....wont be many left soon.

[Peter Lewis]

ZK-JNX Raglan 10Nov07 - Black Sands day



Same airframe, in an earlier life as an Fu-24-954 ZK-JAC
Te Kuiti 1995

[p40fanatic]

Was watching the DVD "The Super Pilots" today and what machine should appear sitting on its nose? Take a guess....it's a Super Air aircraft somewhere on this page.....

[fletcherfu24]

In a river bed in the Mohaka area?......you have to wonder how much of JNX was JNX and how much JNX was a currrent registration passed along to many aircraft.

[pa18]

Looking at the photo of JNX on Raglan makes me wonder when the owners of the strip will chop it up for "Sickshins"
Who would of thought a sleepy old dump like Raglan would one day have $1000000 fibro baches?

[Bruce]

Raglan airfield is very safe for the foreseeable future. It is owned by the Waikato district council who are very supportive of it and go out of their way to encourage its use (providing everyone pays the $5 landing fee) It doesnt cost the local ratepayers very much as an ammenity and is protected in the district plan. It is considered greenspace parkland and even if it did close it would go back to the local Maori Iwi, who want to keep it as greenspace. The biggest threat to the airfield will be coastal erosion which has been eating away at the sand dunes on the Harbour side at an accelerated rate in the lat 30 years or so (Global climate change suspected). Its a great place and definitely part of the local community. Providing the itinerant aviators show consideration and pay their fees etc, it should stay this way for a long time yet !

[Dave Homewood]

bruce said:

It is considered greenspace parkland and even if it did close it would go back to the local Maori Iwi, who want to keep it as greenspace.

Unlike the old golfcourse that they got back which is predominantly yellowspace? ie noxious ragwort!

The place is basically a sandbar. I don't think changing climate will make much difference, sand shifts either way. Perhaps the greater usage of the harbour by boats is more to the point of excellerated change.

[pa18]

Bet the old quonset hut has long gone?
Boy ...if the walls could talk in that hut.....

[fletcherfu24]

The rumour I heard behind a hangar said the Walter engine in JNX had lunched itself so badly that CAA have grabbed it and the whisper has it expect to see PT-6s start sprouting from previously Walter powered Fletchers shortly.But my lips are sealed....

[flyjoe180]

Is the Walter a less-expensive and lower time engine than the PT6? Bit of a throw-away item?

[fletcherfu24]

Yep,the Walter is all of those.However no use having a cheap motor,if as you go off the end of a strip the turbine blades come flying out the engine cowls.

[flyjoe180]

No, indeed not.