Date:	Tuesday 25 October 1932
Time:	16:00
Type:	de Havilland DH.60G Gipsy Moth
Owner/operator:	Wellington Aero Club
Registration:	ZK-AAZ
MSN:	1207
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2
Aircraft damage:	Substantial
Location:	Colonial Knob, Wellington 2 -   New Zealand
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Private
Departure airport:	Palmerston North Airport, Palmerston North, New Zealand (PMR/NZPM)
Destination airport:	Rongotai Airport, Rongotai, Wellington, New Zealand (WLG/NZWN)

Narrative:
c/no 1207: DH.60G [Gipsy I] Moth Coupe sold to Air Survey & Transport Co Ltd, New Zealand with C of A 2314 issued 21.11.29. Re-registered as ZK-AAZ 25.2.30 to Wellington Aero Club, Rongotai, Wellington

This Gypsy Moth was flying from New Plymouth to Rongotai, with stops at Wanganui and Palmerston North. The plane departed Palmerston North at 2:15 p.m. bound for Rongotai Airport at Wellington, and was seen over Johnsonville at about 3:00, flying in cloudy conditions and appearing to have difficulty in progressing towards Wellington.

The Moth then turned back and headed north and was seen over Tawa (then Tawa Flat) at about 3:45, before heading westwards toward the coast. The plane did not arrive at Rongotai as expected and search action was initiated. An air search late in the afternoon saw nothing owing to the weather, but another search next morning located the wreck of ZK-AAZ on a hilltop about 1,500 feet AMSL and not far from the Colonial Knob trig station.

The plane was severely damaged and the engine was found some feet away from the rest of the fuselage. There was no fire. Both occupants were found dead and appeared to have died instantly: Mr Francis Gresser (39) pilot, and passenger Mr George Bourne Steven King (34). R.I.P.

Salvaged and rebuilt; C of A renewed 11.3.34. Sold 12.3.35 and registered 14.7.35 to West Coast United Aero Club, Hokitika.

Rangituhi/Colonial Knob is a large hill or mountain southwest of Porirua city and west of the northern Wellington suburb of Tawa. The peak's summit stands at 468 metres (1,535 ft). Kapiti Island and Mana Island can be seen from the peak, and on a clear day the inland Kaikoura Ranges to the south and Mount Taranaki to the north may also be seen. Rangituhi/Colonial Knob was formed from part of a 30–40-million-year-old peneplain, that has since been raised by earthquakes and eroded.

Subsequent history of Moth ZK-AAZ: Salvaged and rebuilt; CofA renewed 11.3.34. Sold 12.3.35 and registered 14.7.35 to West Coast United Aero Club, Hokitika. Written off in heavy landing Hokitika 19.9.37 (see separate entry).

1. Evening Post, 26 October 1932, Page 10: https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/EP19321026.2.73
2. Photo of crash: Evening Post, 26 October 1932, Page 7: https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/EP19321026.2.32.1
3. Auckland Star, 26 October 1932, Page 7: https://freepages.rootsweb.com/~sooty/genealogy/miscairdeaths.html
4. Dominion, Volume 26, 27 October 1932, Page 10: https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/DOM19321027.2.104
5. Photo of pilot: Wanganui Chronicle, 28 October 1932, Page 8: https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/WC19321028.2.95
6. Manawatu Standard, 29 October 1932, Page 4: https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/MS19321029.2.31.4
7. AHSNZ, 1987, Journal, Vol 30 No 3.
8. Funeral of Pilot: https://friendsofkaroricemetery.co.nz/last-post/
9. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/gy/reg_ZK-.html
10. http://www.edcoatescollection.com/ac2/NZAM/ZK-Acc.html
11. https://forum.keypublishing.com/showthread.php?100378-DH60G-Moth-coupe
12. http://www.flydw.org.uk/DWZKAAH.htm
13. https://ab-ix.co.uk/pdfs/dh60.pdf
14. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/dh/p012.html
15. https://air-britain.com/pdfs/archive/Archive_1981.pdf
16. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porirua
17. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rangituhi_/_Colonial_Knob

Other occurrences involving this aircraft

19 September 1937

ZK-AAZ

West Coast United Aero Club

0

Hokitika Aerodrome, Hokitika, West Coast

w/o

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
01-Nov-2009 01:27	RATONBIB	Added
28-Sep-2010 21:56	angels one five	Updated [Date, Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Operator, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Location, Country, Phase, Nature, Damage, Narrative]
28-Sep-2010 22:10	angels one five	Updated [Aircraft type]
25-Dec-2011 22:34	angels one five	Updated [Time, Registration, Cn, Operator, Location, Phase, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Narrative]
25-Dec-2011 22:39	angels one five	Updated [Source]
25-Dec-2011 22:42	angels one five	Updated [Source]
24-May-2013 02:12	angels one five	Updated [Aircraft type, Narrative]
12-Feb-2014 15:04	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Location, Source, Narrative]
15-Mar-2018 06:30	angels one five	Updated [Narrative]
20-May-2018 02:20	Ron Averes	Updated [Location]
10-Jun-2018 20:17	angels one five	Updated [Location, Narrative]
23-Jan-2022 03:58	Ron Averes	Updated [Aircraft type, Location]
23-Jan-2022 04:08	Ron Averes	Updated [Aircraft type]
31-Jan-2022 03:18	Ron Averes	Updated [Location]
13-Feb-2022 01:53	Ron Averes	Updated [Location]
15-Nov-2023 03:02	Ron Averes	Updated [Aircraft type, Source, Narrative]
23-Nov-2023 13:11	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, Category]
03-Dec-2023 07:37	Ron Averes	Updated [Location]