Date:	Saturday 16 October 1943
Time:	15:40 LT
Type:	De Havilland DH-82A Tiger Moth
Owner/operator:	ATC Touring Flt RNZAF
Registration:	NZ1410
MSN:	DHA496
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 2
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Carters Beach, West Coast -   New Zealand
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Training
Departure airport:	Westport, South Island, New Zealand
Destination airport:

Narrative:
de Havilland DH82a Tiger Moth MSN DHA.496:Australian built by DH Australia at Bankstown, Sydney, NSW. BOC Unit 18 Rongotai 24.11.41 as NZ1410. Fitted with a canopy during 1943.

Written off (destroyed) when crashed at Carter's Beach, Westport at 15:40 hours on 16.10.43 during an aerobatic display while being operated by the ATC Touring Flight. The aircraft failed to recover from a stall turn performed at 1,000 to 1,500 feet, and dived into the ground. Of the two persons on board, Flying Officer Albert Hancock was killed and passenger Dudley Wade seriously injured.

According to a contemporary local newspaper report ("Auckland Star", Volume LXXIV, Issue 247, 18 October 1943, Page 4):

"16 October 1943 - When an aircraft of the Royal New Zealand Air Force crashed at a South Island aerodrome [near Westport] the pilot was killed. He was Flying-Officer Albert Keith HANCOCK, 30 years, son of Mr S A Hancock, of Hamilton. A passenger in the machine, Mr Dudley WADE, school teacher, of Granity, received injuries and was admitted to hospital".

Pilot of Tiger Moth NZ1410:
Flying Officer Albert Keith HANCOCK RNZAF (Pilot, Service Number 415188, aged 30) - killed in service 16.10.43. Buried in a Commonwealth War Grave at the Hamilton East Public Cemetery, at Public Area F2, Row F, Grave 1
Mr. Dudley Wade (Passenger, Civilian) survived with serious injuries

Mr. Dudley was was a civilian passenger, and not a military person; he was a teacher by profession, and from Granity. He was badly injured and admitted to hospital. The pilot was highly experienced, having had 1,428 hrs solo experience on flying Tiger Moth aircraft.

Tiger Moth NZ1410 was written off the books at Harewood on 26.11.43 as reduced to spares.

The reported crash location of Carters Beach is a suburb of Westport on the West Coast of New Zealand's South Island, located 6 kilometres (4 miles) west of Westport on State Highway 67A. From the Buller River jetty at the east end of Carters Beach, west to Cape Foulwind, the beach runs for more than 9 uninterrupted kilometres.

1. For Your Tomorrow, Errol Martyn, Volume 2, Page 152
2. Auckland Star, Volume LXXIV, Issue 247, 18 October 1943, Page 4
3. http://www.adf-serials.com.au/nz-serials/nzdh82.htm
4. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/dh/pAus4.html
5. https://steemit.com/history/@len.george/de-havilland-tiger-moth-dh-82a-nz-1401-to-nz1420-1939-to-1956-part-5
6. https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2920044/ALBERT%20KEITH%20HANCOCK/
7. Biography of pilot: cambridgeairforce.org.nz/Albert%20Hancock.htm
8. https://www.nzwargraves.org.nz/casualties/albert-keith-hancock
9. https://www.aucklandmuseum.com/war-memorial/online-cenotaph/record/C25439
10. https://www.sooty.nz/miscairdeaths.html

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
11-Jun-2009 19:36	angels one five	Added
30-Sep-2009 01:42	angels one five	Updated
04-Apr-2010 09:15	angels one five	Updated [Narrative]
06-May-2013 06:39	Nepa	Updated [Time, Registration, Cn, Operator, Source, Narrative]
06-May-2013 13:10	Anon.	Updated [Time, Registration, Cn, Operator, Source, Narrative]
12-Sep-2013 12:04	angels one five	Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Operator, Location]
30-Oct-2013 08:58	angels one five	Updated [Operator, Source, Narrative]
15-Nov-2018 10:40	Nepa	Updated [Operator, Operator]
19-Aug-2021 22:00	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Time, Operator, Location, Departure airport, Source, Narrative, Category]
20-Aug-2021 09:45	Anon.	Updated [Time, Operator, Location, Operator]
20-Aug-2021 17:08	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Time, Narrative]
27-Aug-2021 00:35	Ron Averes	Updated [Location]
16-Dec-2021 04:08	angels one five	Updated [Phase, Narrative]
26-Jan-2022 04:22	Ron Averes	Updated [Aircraft type]
07-Feb-2022 04:33	Ron Averes	Updated [Location]