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Post by Peter Lewis on Nov 11, 2007 8:26:50 GMT 12
Sad news: Top dressing plane crashed near Opotiki in the BOP killing the pilot; CAA is investigating; community is shocked
11 November 2007
Civil Aviation investigators will continue going over the scene of a top-dressing plane crash today.
The light aircraft went down near the Bay of Plenty town of Opotiki, killing the pilot. Police were alerted to the crash after witnesses reported smoke billowing from a ridge in the direction where the plane was last seen heading. A CAA spokesman says it could be months before the cause of the crash is known.
Another local pilot says the death has shocked the close-knit flying community.
The man's family has been notified, and his name is expected to be released this morning. home.nzcity.co.nz/news/article.aspx?id=78563&fm=psp,tsf |
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Post by Dave Homewood on Nov 12, 2007 12:33:54 GMT 12
The pilot's name has been released. My condolences to his family and friends.
Crash kills topdressing pilot
By LEIGH VAN DER STOEP, ESTHER HARWARD - Sunday Star Times | Sunday, 11 November 2007
A Whakatane agricultural pilot and father of three is dead after his topdressing plane crashed into farmland just south of Opotiki.
Andrew Wilde, 38, worked for aerial spraying company Super Air and was well known and liked among farmers in Whakatane and Gisborne.
He had been crop spraying yesterday morning when his plane went down.
Police said it was too early to comment on the cause of the crash but witnesses reported seeing smoke coming from the plane.
Wilde's plane was reported overdue at 1.40pm yesterday. He is understood to have died on impact.
On his web page Wilde said he had "fulfilled my lifelong dream of being a topdressing pilot".
"Nothing better than topdressing a seaside farm on a beautiful BoP day," he said.
Conditions in the area when the plane crashed were described as "very clear, gentle breeze and hardly any cloud".
He was due to do a topdressing job for sheep and beef farmer Tim Mackintosh yesterday afternoon at his Manawahe farm, 40 minutes away from Wilde's home in Ohope. Wilde had worked for Mackintosh for four years.
Mackintosh said Wilde loved his flying; that he lived for it. He was well aware of the risks but got so much pleasure from it that he kept doing it.
"He was a hell of a nice guy," said Mackintosh. "He was easygoing, quite relaxed, which is a common attribute of these topdressing pilots. They can't afford to get stressed."
Wilde had had a few close calls flying around the Bay of Plenty, including one involving a mechanical failure.
Super Air general manager Graham Martin said he could guarantee his company's planes were mechanically sound and Wilde was a "senior pilot with plenty of hours behind him". "He was very competent."
Mackintosh said: "I think he was also very cautious, too, I'd get a lot of phone calls first thing in the morning to check what the wind was doing, and the conditions. I can probably think of a couple of instances where, if conditions weren't right, he wouldn't fly. I had been up with him a few times and always felt very safe."
A biography posted on Super Air's website said Wilde grew up watching topdressing aircraft flying around the farms in his childhood town, Ohakune.
He began his flight training in his 20s. On his days off Wilde loved fishing and hunting with his three boys, aged 10, eight and seven. His widow, Sarah, is a hairdresser.
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Post by corsair67 on Nov 12, 2007 13:52:50 GMT 12
This is very sad indeed.
R.I.P.
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Post by flyjoe180 on Nov 13, 2007 9:17:57 GMT 12
Yes, condolences to the family and all involved
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Post by Peter Lewis on Nov 15, 2007 14:25:03 GMT 12
Aircraft was Fletcher Fu24-950 ZK-EGV of Super Air.
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Post by Kereru on Nov 15, 2007 14:35:22 GMT 12
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