Fatal Aircraft Accident Near Twizel

[Dave Homewood]

Person dies after plane crash near Twizel
25 Oct, 2021 11:39 AM

A person has died after a light plane crashed near Lake Ōhau

A Fire and Emergency NZ spokesperson confirmed the fatality in the crash at Twizel-Omarama Rd near Lake Ōhau at 10:46am.

Police also confirmed they received a report of the crash but they didn't have any further details.

A person has posted on social media that the plane has crashed into a field, however that is yet to be confirmed by authorities.

Although several locals had heard emergency services sirens earlier, none contacted by the Herald knew that there had been a fatal plane crash in the town.

North Otago Federated Farmers president Jared Ross was aware there had been a crash but didn't know any details.

He knew of a couple of people who flew in the area and was contacting them.


www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/person-dies-after-plane-crash-near-twizel/7AMS74XUF5ZVNUEX3E3CVEJO6M/

[l29]

It was a baby Great
lakes. I won't mention the pilots name.

[Peter Lewis]

Just one of those on the register.

[Dave Homewood]

RIP

Friends pay tribute to gliding instructor Bo Nilsson after fatal microlight crash
27 Oct, 2021 07:23 AM


Bo Nilsson has been named as the man killed in a plane crash near Omarama. Photo / Supplied

NZ Herald

The friends of a respected pilot who taught gliding for more two decades have paid tribute to him after he was killed in a microlight crash.

Bo Nilsson died when the Baby Great Lakes microlight he was flying crashed in a paddock near Twizel-Omarama Rd at 10.46am on Monday.

Gavin Willis, who operated Glide Omarama for more than two decades, worked with Nilsson for much of that.

He was at the airfield on the morning of the crash and watched Nilsson take off, he said.

About an hour later, a police car arrived and told them there had been a crash.

"We were shocked, just in disbelief. He was a grandfather of us all. A wise man, that will be sorely missed," he said.

Nilsson lived in Omarama for 20 years, and had been a gliding instructor for all of that time.

''He was an A category gliding instructor, which is as good as you get.''

He would work New Zealand summers in Omarama and Northern Hemisphere summers in Wales.

Originally from Sweden, he left the country in his 20s and worked on cargo boats, traveling the world.

Wills said he somehow found himself in Wellington and decided to settle in New Zealand where he became a "very successful" restaurateur.

After learning to fly gliders, he sold his businesses and became a full-time instructor.

His wife predeceased him and he was survived by a daughter in Auckland and son in Greece.

Omarama Airfield chairman Clive Geddes said the pilot had taken off from the airfield on a solo flight on Monday morning.

He was a very experienced glider and microlight pilot, Geddes said.

''[He was] a guy who was very widely respected for his abilities and for his ability to help other people.''

Police confirmed the man had been the sole occupant of the plane and said he was found dead at the scene.

Geddes said there had been ''nothing exceptional'' in the weather conditions at the airfield.

A Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) spokesman said investigators would examine the crash scene and interview first responders and other witnesses.

Members of the public who witnessed the crash were encouraged to contact CAA, the spokesman said.

Waitaki District mayor Gary Kircher said the event was tragic and he had called to check in on acquaintances who flew when he heard the news.

There were a lot of people involved in aviation in the area, and the crash would affect a wide section of the community, he said.

- Additional reporting Otago Daily Times

www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/friends-pay-tribute-to-gliding-instructor-bo-nilsson-after-fatal-microlight-crash/Y453Z6IPAGVXNSOGSO4IQKG3HM/

[planewriting]

Bo was the first New Zealand owner of Schempp-Hirth Duo Discus ZK-GBO now owned by S L Brown of Warkworth. Bo imported it as N99DX from the United States in October 2005.