AIR ACCIDENT
ERROR OF JUDGMENT GREAT BARRIER FATALITY ■ REPORT BY DEPARTMENT THE CORONER'S VERDICT Death from shock following injuries received when on March 17 the aeroplane in which he was a passenger crashed at the Kaitoke aerodrome, Great Barrier Island, was the verdict given by the coroner. Mr. F. Tv. Hunt, at an inquest yesterday into the death of William Holman Claris, civil engineer, aged .'l2. The Air Department produced a report which stated that the accident was caused by an error of judgment on the part of the pilot of the aeroplane, Mr. E. M. Walker, who held a licence to carry passengers. The aeroplane, a Miles Magister monoplane, had been passed by the inspector of Accidents as airworthy. The pilot had allowed the aeroplane to lose forward speed so that it stalled and went into a righthand spin. The altitude was such that full recovery could not have been made even had the correct technique been applied by the pilot. Dr. W. F. M. Gilmour said that life was extinct when he examined the body of Mr. Claris. The cause of death was shock, and the injuries were consistent with deceased having been involved in » crash.
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Bibliographic details
New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVI, Issue 23381, 24 June 1939, Page 19
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198AIR ACCIDENT New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVI, Issue 23381, 24 June 1939, Page 19
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