CRASH INTO HARBOUR

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26608, 3 November 1947, Page 4

CRASH INTO HARBOUR

TIGER MOTH'S FATAL SPIN

BOTH OCCUPANTS KILLED P.A. NELSON, Nov. 2.

The pilot and the passenger lost their lives at 12.45 this afternoon when a Tiger Moth plane fell in a spin from a considerable height and crashed into Nelson Harbour. They were; Mr Jack Ellis, aged about 21, of Parker’s road, Tahunanui, the pilot of the plane. Mr Herbert Frank Crosier, a married man, aged 31, of Nelson, the passenger.

Crosier’s body was recovered in the machine, but a search for Ellis’s body was continued until dark.

Ellis, who learned to fly with the Nelson Aero Club about 18 months ago, was one of the most experienced club pilots. He took off from the Nelson aerodrome in the moth ZK-AKG on a local flight,' with Crosier as passenger. Observers state that the plane had been doing aerobatics. One eyewitness said he saw the machine stunting at an estimated height of 1000 feet, but he took little notice until the engine cut off. He saw the plane develop a tight spin, in which it gained momentum until it crashed into the harbour about a-quarter of a mile north of the wharf, submerging soon after hitting 'the water. A Harbour Board launch recovered the plane,in which Crosier’s body was still strapped in the front cockpit. The pilot’s seat straps were loose, indicating that he made some effort to escape.