ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 60853
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| Date: | Saturday 4 December 1982 |
| Time: | c. 1355 |
| Type: |  Schleicher Ka 8B |
| Owner/operator: | Upper Valley Gliding Club |
| Registration: | ZK-GEW |
| MSN: | 8645 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Tararua Range, near Tokomaru -
 New Zealand
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Paraparaumu (NZPP) |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
Pilot: Robert Peter Taylor. R.I.P.
The pilot was taking part in an inter-club gliding competition.
A task was set from Paraparaumu to Tokomaru School and return, a total distance of 129 km.
When at the end of the day the glider had not been heard from it was declared missing, and a search was commenced.
The wreckage of the glider was sighted from the air the following afternoon.
It was located in a stream bed in a narrow bush-clad valley in the Tararua Range foothills, 4 km south of Tokomaru township and at an elevation of 400 feet AMSL.
Both wings had separated from the fuselage in the crash and the forward section of it was crushed by the impact.
The pilot was found dead.
Evidence at the crash site indicated that the glider was flying down the valley at a low height in an attempt to reach a field suitable for a glider out-landing. This field was at the mouth of the valley and only 40 metres from the crash.
The right wing tip had struck a tree causing the glider to yaw and dive steeply into the stream bed below .
The accident report concludes :
" 3.5 The pilot continued to fly over hilly terrain at a low altitude, instead of flying to an adjacent flat terrain to make an out-landing."
"3.7 While the pilot was endeavouring to fly the glider out of the valley its wing tip collided with a tree resulting in major damage to a wing and rendering the glider uncontrollable.
3.8 The probable cause of this accident was an unexpected loss of height which placed the glider at a height from which the pilot was unable to fly it clear of obstructions between his position and a suitable landing ground. "
Sources:
Aircraft Accident Report 82-111
coptercrazy
Ross Kerr (2006) A Chronology of the Tararua & Rimutaka Ranges
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 11 November 1972 | ZK-GEW | Upper Valley Gliding Club | 0 | Whitemans Valley, Wellington 4 | |
unk |
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 22-May-2009 12:58 | XLerate | Added |
| 15-Aug-2011 17:57 | angels one five | Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Operator, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Location, Phase, Nature, Departure airport, Damage, Narrative] |
| 15-Aug-2011 18:42 | angels one five | Updated [Source, Narrative] |
| 22-Sep-2011 06:31 | Uli Elch | Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Location, Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 16-May-2018 20:38 | Ron Averes | Updated [Aircraft type, Location, Source, Narrative] |
| 23-Sep-2021 16:55 | Ron Averes | Updated [Location] |
| 04-Feb-2022 14:58 | Ron Averes | Updated [Operator] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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