Inspectors look at plane wreck

Press, 1 August 1989, Page 6

Inspectors look at plane wreck

PA Wellington Two air accident inspectors yesterday examined the wreckage of a Piper Tomahawk plane to determine the cause of a fatal mid-air collision near Palmerston North. Two people died when their plane spiralled into the ground and a passenger in the second aircraft was seriously injured by debris, although the pilot managed to land the plane safely. Senior-Sergeant Mike Hubbard, of Palmerston North, said Messrs Ron Chippendale and Dimitri Zotov yesterday visited the crash site at Aokautere and examined wreckage spread over a wide area. The police had handed the investigation to. the inspectors. Senior-Ser-geant Hubbard said it appeared that the Manawatu District Aero Club’s planes were flying in formation when they came too close and struck one another. An Airways Corporation spokesman said the two light aircraft were flying on visual flight rules and were not under the control of the Palmerston North Airport control tower. Angela Bos, aged 20,

and Michael Thomas Lamb, aged 22, both of Palmerston North, were killed on impact when their plane crashed into a farm paddock, Senior-Ser-geant Hubbard said. The club’s chief flying instructor, Mr Andy Nicholson, was unhurt in the accident and managed to land his plane safely at Palmerston North’s Milson Airport. His sole passenger, Mr Paul Wendon, aged 33, of Palmerston North, was critically ill yesterday in Wellington hospital with head injuries. Senior-Sergeant Hubbard said Mr Wendon was injured by a part of the aircraft which had come through the cockpit A witness, Mr Dennis Moore, of Aokautere, said he heard a “metallic click.” Mr Moore, a pilot himself, said planes often flew over his house so he usually ignored them. When he heard the click of metal, “I looked up instantly and saw the planes had struck each other.” . “One had gone into a left-hand spiral spin while the other seemed to be flying away under control, although it was heading downwards,” Mr Moore said.