Air Force inquiry to begin today
An inquiry into the Strikemaster crash will be convened at Wigram today, headed by Wing Commander Peter Faulkner, of Wellington. A Royal New Zealand Air Force spokesman confirmed that one of the first tasks of the board of inquiry will be to visit the crash site. The other two members of the inquiry will be specialist officers, one a pilot and the other an engineer. Yesterday’s crash was the first by an R.N.Z.A.F.
Strikemast.er. The R.N.Z.A.F. bought 10 aircraft which arrived in 1972 to replace the Vampire, which was the first operational jet aircraft of the R.N.Z.A.F. The cost of the 10 aircraft was $7 million. A further six aircraft were delivered in 1972-73 after the R.N.Z.A.F. decided to use Strikemasters for the latter part of its pilot training courses. Now the aircraft are used for advanced pilot training and strike conversion roles.
All of the R.N.Z.A.F. Strikemasters are twinseater aircraft and are equipped with Martin-Baker ejection seats which can be used down to ground level and 90 knots. The aircraft are powered by a Rolls-Royce Bristol Viper Series 20 Mk 535 turbo-jet. Other air forces flying the Strikemaster include Saudi Arabia and Singapore. It is not yet know if the R.N.Z.A.F. will decide to replace the crashed aircraft.
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Press, 4 July 1985, Page 1
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215Air Force inquiry to begin today Press, 4 July 1985, Page 1
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