Fatal Ashburton Tiger Moth crash

[Dave Homewood]

www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3886488a10,00.html

Two dead in Ashburton plane crash
02 December 2006

A light aircraft has crashed north of Ashburton killing both people on board, it has been confirmed.


Police said details of the accident were unclear but it was thought the bi-plane may have hit wires and crashed.

The Ashburton-based Tiger Moth missed a house by 50 metres as it came down, witnesses said.

Police confirmed the two people on the aircraft died.

No names were released but police spoke to the father of one of the victims within an hour of the crash.

Senior Sergeant Tony Ellis of Christchurch police said details of the cause of the crash were unclear.

"It was seen to just nose into the ground and it caught fire.

"It just seemed to dive straight down, according to one of the witnesses," Mr Ellis said.

Volunteer firefighters from Rakaia, north of Ashburton attended the crash.

Mr Ellis said details of the two deceased would not be released until next of kin had been told

[agalbraith]

Oh No! That is a tragedy.

Words fail me. My heart goes out to their families, that truly is sad news.

Anthony

[Dave Homewood]

The name of one of the victims has been released. I agree Anthony, it's a tradgedy and my thoughts are with the families.

www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3886976a10,00.html

Fiery plane crash kills two
03 December 2006
By LOIS WATSON

A Mid-Canterbury man who adored vintage cars and planes died in his Tiger Moth yesterday.

John Copland of Ashburton and his passenger died when his recently restored deHavilland DH82A Tiger Moth crashed just metres from houses north of the town.

An hour later, five people in a light plane were forced to make an emergency landing in Hawke's Bay after their double-engine plane failed. A flight instructor and four students escaped without injury.

In Ashburton, semi-retired farmer Ray Gudex was working in a paddock on his Mitchum Rd farm north of Ashburton with his son Boyd when he saw the Tiger Moth approaching.

"It was spiralling and then it just went into this vertical descent," Gudex said. The plane nose-dived into the ground about 30m from his house where his wife was in the kitchen.

"All she could see were flames - it was pretty upsetting."

Gudex and his son raced to the plane to help the pilot, but by the time they got to the wreckage it was engulfed in flames.

"We couldn't do anything. We couldn't even see if there were people in it."

It appeared the plane had taken off from the nearby airfield only minutes before. Conditions for flying were excellent.

Police had not released the identity of those on board, but the Sunday Star-Times understands the pilot was Copland, who owned the plane with his father, Ray.

It is believed the Tiger Moth was one of the newest rebuilds in the country. The Coplands had owned it less than a year.

Members of the Mid-Canterbury Aero Club and Aviation Museum, where Copland was a member, said he had been flying for a couple of years. He lived with his father and was self-employed.

Pat Copland, John's aunt, said the family was deeply shocked.

Another relative said John Copland lived for "anything mechanical" and was very close to his dad, Ray, who was in his 70s.

Previous news stories mention that the pair kept vintage tractors, machinery, motorbikes, cars, and a grader on their hobby farm just outside the town.

The Tiger Moth crashed shortly before 11am, about 500m from busy SH1 - the main route through the South Island.

Ashburton fire chief Alan Burgess said several fire crews responded to the Gudex family's emergency call, but there was little they could do. A fierce fire engulfed the plane's engine bay.

Two bodies were removed from the wreckage shortly before 5pm. Police and the Civil Aviation Authority are investigating.

Meanwhile, the four student pilots on the plane forced to make an emergency landing in Hawke's Bay yesterday were unaware they were in danger.

Their six-seater Partnavia plane suffered a double engine failure, forcing their instructor to make an emergency landing in a small field about midday.

Instructor Ravindrah Singh said the students thought they were being tested on emergency procedures until the plane hit the ground.

"That's the time they realised it was the real thing."

The private students from the Manawatu Aero Club were returning to Palmerston North from Napier when their first engine failed about 760m above Takapau.

While running through emergency procedures, the second engine failed and Singh took over the controls to make the landing.

Singh said the students were in good spirits and the incident had been good for their emergency training.

Additional reporting by Emma Page

[Peter Lewis]

A very sad loss.
Sounds like the aircraft was ZK-BAR, which only arrived recently into the country from Australia where it was VH-AHB.

[xr6turbo1]

Very sad news indeed

[corsair67]

From The Press. Both victims have now been identified.



Vintage motor identities die in Tiger Moth crash
04 December 2006
By MARTIN VAN BEYNEN.

Ashburton is mourning the deaths of two talented vintage vehicle devotees after a Tiger Moth crash on Saturday.


The vintage de Havilland Tiger Moth nose-dived into a farm paddock on Mitcham Road, just north of Ashburton, landing about 30m from a farm house. The aircraft, of which there are about 20 in New Zealand, burst into flames on impact.

The pilot was Ashburton self-employed vehicle restorer John Copland, believed to be in his early 50s. His passenger was Allenton garage proprietor Bill Datlen, 52.

The Tiger Moth took off from the Ashburton Aero Club about 11am and crashed almost immediately.

Datlen had gone to the airfield to check the club building's suitability for a motor trades function when he was invited for a ride by Copland.

Datlen was heavily involved in the Ashburton and national vintage car and motoring scene, and was regarded as the expert to turn to for older car problems. He was a familiar figure on rallies and at events with his 1922 Cadillac Tourer, and he also owned a modified Ford 10.

Milner Jacob, a longtime friend of the Datlen family, said older vehicles were Datlen's life.

"He was very well respected. If you had a problem, you took it to Bill. He was quite an expert."

Jacob said Datlen also ran a very successful garage and employed three mechanics.

"A salt of the earth character as they say. He would give you the shirt off his back if it had anything to do with motoring. He was everybody's friend."

Datlen was married to Sritianingsih, whom he met in Indonesia while working there in the mining industry. The couple have two sons in their teens and a 21-year-old daughter.

Copland was well known locally as a devotee of vintage motorbikes and machinery, a love he shared with his father, Ray, now in his 80s.

Copland lived with his father on a rural property on the outskirts of Ashburton. He had been flying for about four years and was a member of the Ashburton Aero Club.

Tom Copland, a relative, said John Copland and his father tended to stick to themselves and were both mad keen on old machinery, including tractors and pumps.

"John was a very good mechanic. He was self taught and loved to work on machinery, especially if it was older than 50 years," he said.

"Their place was like Steptoes. They hardly ever bought anything new. They just loved fixing things."

John and Ray Copland had gone to Australia to buy the Tiger Moth and had shipped it back in a container, he said.

The Civil Aviation Authority's general manager of general aviation, John Lanham, who has flown Tiger Moths, said the aircraft were usually given a "special experimental" category because of their age.

Pilots did not need a special licence to fly the machines.

Most of the Tiger Moths in New Zealand were rebuilt with new and overhauled parts and were highly desired, he said.

Ashburton farmer Ray Gudex said he saw the Tiger Moth plunge into his paddock from about 200m.

"Its wing spun over and it looped and spiralled and then hit the dirt. It was engulfed in flames. I couldn't do a thing."