Fatal Plane Crash in Dipton, Southland

[Dave Homewood]

www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/man-dies-after-plane-crashes-into-hill-in-southland

[Dave Homewood]

One dead in microlight crash
6:38 am today

Civil Aviation Authority staff are expected today at the site of a fatal microlight crash in Southland.

The aircraft was reported overdue north of Nightcaps early yesterday afternoon, and it was found crashed in the Taringatura Forest west of Benmore about 4pm.

The pilot was found dead at the scene.

It is understood he had been flying with a group but became separated.

www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/366023/one-dead-in-microlight-crash

[Dave Homewood]

Man dies in Southland microlight plane crash
Maddison Northcott and Rachael Kelly
13:27, Sep 09 2018


The man was reported missing from just north of Nightcaps, in Southland.

A man has died after a microlight plane crashed in a remote location in a cleared forestry block in Southland on Saturday.

A CAA spokesman said a group of microlight enthusiasts met on Saturday morning in Invercargill with a planned scenic flight to Stewart Island.

There was some fog and low cloud.

The Rescue Co-ordination Centre advised police of a report of an overdue microlight just north of Nightcaps, north of Invercargill, around 12:45pm, a police statement said.

Southern Lakes Helicopter and Te Anau Police Search and Rescue reached the plane in the nearby Taringatura Forest, west of Benmore, around 4:15pm.

A man, the sole occupant of the plane, was found dead at the scene. His body has since been recovered.

The aircraft was an Alpi 'Pioneer', the CAA spokesperson said.

It is understood the man was flying with a group and became separated from them.

CAA investigators were arriving in Invercargill on Sunday morning, where they would meet with police and determine the next steps.

They are expected to visit the site of the crash on Sunday afternoon.

Gore Aero Club microlight instructor Bradley Yorke said he was aware of the crash, but it was not a club member who was involved.

He would not comment further because some of the pilot's next-of-kin were still to be informed.

The Southland Aero Club has been unable to be contacted for comment.

Otago Aero Club chief flying instructor John Penno said he didn't know anything about the crash and the pilot was not a club member.

A spokesperson from Mainland Air said they did not know anything about the crash.

A spokesperson from the Recreational Aircraft Association of New Zealand said he was unaware of the details of crash, but flying in a grouplike the pilot was was common practice.

"It's pretty much a social exercise."

Anyone who may have seen or heard a plane in the Benmore area on Saturday was asked to contact Alun Griffiths at Invercargill Police on [phone].

[Dave Homewood]

RIP

[Dave Homewood]

Hamilton pharmacist dies in microlight crash
Jo Lines-MacKenzie
15:28, Sep 10 2018


Trevor Barrett died in a microlight crash in the South Island on Saturday (file photo).
Trevor Barrett shared his love of flying whenever he could.

The Pāuanui resident died when his microlight crashed in Taringatura Forest, west of Benmore, on Saturday.

Barrett and his wife Lyn lived for many years in Hamilton, where they owned Barrett Pharmacy in Dinsdale. They sold it a number of years ago.

On Saturday, the Rescue Co-ordination Centre advised police of a report of an overdue microlight just north of Nightcaps, north of Invercargill, about 12.45pm, a police statement said.

READ MORE: North Island microlight pilot dies in Southland

Southern Lakes Helicopter and Te Anau Police Search and Rescue reached the plane about 4.15pm.

Barrett, who was the only person aboard, was found dead at the scene in a cleared forestry block. His body has since been recovered.

Fellow Recreational Aircraft Association of NZ member Colin Alexander had known Barrett for 19 years.

"He was a really good guy. He loved talking and he loved talking about flying. Once you got him talking on flying, it was difficult to find the off switch."

Barrett and several mates were heading to Stewart Island, but the alert went up when he didn't make the briefing at Ōpio beforehand.

"He was aware of the consequences of being unsafe - he was a person who enjoyed the full limits of flying."

Alexander said that Barrett was very social, very friendly, and was always part of everything going.

"He was down south to catch up with his mates down there - to chew the fat with them."

Barrett had been part of the microlight community from its very beginning in New Zealand. He started off flying Quicksilver and Thruster microlights and had done a lot to promote the flying of microlights in New Zealand.

"He would organise fly-ins to Pāuanui, where he and his wife Lyn would cook and host the others."

Alexander said Barrett would be sorely missed.

"I am very shocked. He and I had a good banter just last week. I'm going to miss him. I've still got his car here.

"We had a very good personal relationship."

Alexander said Barrett's enthusiasm for microlights was infectious. He said he would fly his plane more than drive his car.

"He enjoyed taking people flying - if there was someone standing nearby, he would often ask if they wanted to go up with him."

Alexander said that the family is obviously devastated. His wife and daughter are in Pāuanui and his son is flying in from Perth.

Barrett is listed as an owner and director of All Seasons Air Conditioning, which has offices in Hamilton and Tauranga.

Barrett's family has requested privacy at this time.

Stuff

www.stuff.co.nz/national/106961935/hamilton-pharmacist-dies-in-microlight-crash

[madmax]

Saddened to read of the death of Trevor Barrett. I first met Trevor when he and Ken Asplin held the NZ agency for Mirage microlights and later Thrusters. I stayed with Trevor several times when passing through Hamilton and later when instructing at Te Kowhai. Trevor took over the Thruster agency when Ken moved to Sydney to take a position with the aircraft manufacturer. Regrettably Ken too was killed in a plane crash around 1990 while instructing at The Oakes airfield south of Sydney.

[flyinkiwi]

He offered me a ride once but I didn't physically fit in his Alpi (too tall), I think he was more disappointed than I was. RIP Trevor.

[Brett]

Microlight pilot crashed in Southland after entering fog while flying low, CAA report finds

An aircraft that crashed into a hillside had entered fog while flying too low, a Civil Aviation Authority report has found.

Trevor Barrett, 71, of Hamilton, died in a forestry block in Southland after his microlight crashed in the Taringatura Hills, west of Benmore, on September 8, 2018.

On the day of the crash, Barrett left Alexandra about 8.30am to join a group of microlight enthusiasts for a group flight to Stewart Island.

When he failed to arrive for the pre-flight briefing and subsequent flight to Stewart Island, the Rescue Coordination centre began a search.

The wreckage was found just before 4pm about 13kms from the pre-flight briefing site.

The report found that Barrett was unfamiliar with the area and it was likely a combination of confirmation and expectation bias influenced his belief that he was following the route that other pilots had taken.

CAA aviation safety deputy chief executive Dean Winter said the safety of the aviation system relied on everyone who participated to follow the rules.

“If they fly ‘visually’, or VFR [visual flight rules] rather than on instruments, those rules include flying no lower than 500 feet above ground level, and not flying in poor weather.”

It was a timely reminder of the importance of thorough pre-flight planning, Winter said.

“It’s standard aviation procedure to check weather conditions at the destination and en-route, and also to plan the flight so the pilot can get there safely.”

The crash highlighted why pilots must comply with the rules and manage the risks associated with visual flight rules into deteriorating weather conditions, the report says.

The report could not conclusively say why Barrett chose to continue into poor weather below 500 feet above ground.

Stuff 17/12/2020

[FlyingKiwi]

Very sad, but some of that report makes for pretty atrocious reading. Some very poor decision making by a number of people.

[Peter Lewis]

Alpi Aviation Pioneer 300 ZK-TNB at Raglan 2Nov2013.
Sad end.