Date:	Sunday 11 April 1937
Time:	14:00 LT
Type:	De Havilland DH.60G Gipsy Moth
Owner/operator:	West Coast United Aero Club
Registration:	ZK-ADZ
MSN:	871
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Tasman Sea, 200 yards off Blaketown Beach, Greymouth, West Coast -   New Zealand
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Training
Departure airport:	Greymouth Airport, Blaketown, New Zealand (GMN/NZGM)
Destination airport:
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
C/no. 871 DH.60G Moth [Gipsy I engine#98, amended to #117] to New Zealand Air Ministry without C of A. To NZPAF (New Zealand Permanent Air Force), Wigram as '871' 1.29. NZPAF became RNZAF 27.2.34. Registered ZK-ADZ 12.3.36 to West Coast United Aero Club, Greymouth.

Crashed into the Tasman Sea, 200 yards off Blaketown Beach, Greymouth, West of the aerodrome. Extensively damaged, not rebuilt. As reported in a contemporary local newspaper (Otago Daily Times, 12 April 1937, Page 10 - see link #1)

"CRASH INTO SEA
MISHAP TO AEROPLANE
PILOT LOSES CONTROL ESCAPE WITH MINOR INJURIES
(Special to Daily Times)
GREYMOUTH, April 11.
Crashing into the sea 200 yards off the Blaketown beach, Greymouth, at 2 o'clock this afternoon, a Gipsy Moth, on loan to the West Coast United Aero Club from the Government, and piloted by Mr Ivan Quinney (aged 36), was badly damaged. The pilot, who is a waterside worker, aged 36, was the only occupant of the machine, and miraculously escaped with a scalp wound. His condition this evening was satisfactory.

He was rescued by Mr E. Price, a member of the Blaketown Surf Club, who had - very difficult struggle against a rough sea before he reached the machine.

PRACTISING TURNS
The aeroplane had been in the air only five minutes, and the pilot was practising vertical turns at a height of about 800 to 1000 feet. It is thought that the pilot was overcome by giddiness, or that the aeroplane was caught in its own slip stream while making a turn as it went into a spin. Mr Quinney was able to pull it out of this, but immediately it went into a second one, and the pilot, exercising great presence of mind, again regained control and gave the engine a burst of speed, but had to cut it off as the aeroplane dived into the sea in a fast glide. It sunk in about 12 feet of water, and then floated to the surface. Fortunately, the pilot had not lost consciousness, and he was able to unstrap himself and climb on to the tail clear of the water.

SWIMMER TO RESCUE
Members of the Surf Club soon arrived with a reel, and after unsuccessful attempts by several others Mr Price took the belt, and, following a strenuous fight against the sea, reached the aeroplane about 10 or 15 minutes after the accident. The floating wreckage made it exceedingly difficult for him to take Mr Quinney off, but eventually he succeeded, and on nearing the shore he was assisted by Mr G. Scott to bring Mr Quinney in.

Medical attention was given to the pilot on the beach, and he was then taken to hospital. The aeroplane had drifted in about 50 or 100 yards by the time the rescue was completed, and a line was made fast and the machine pulled up on the beach by members of the large crowd which had gathered. The wings had been forced back against the fuselage by the impact with the water, one half of the propeller broken off, and the rudder and the right elevator was badly broken. The engine had been pushed out of place. The aeroplane was dismantled as much as possible, and was taken to the clubhouse. This is the second aeroplane the club has lost, another machine having crashed at Waiho on June 20 1935

MACHINE RECENTLY REPAIRED
The aeroplane which crashed today, ZK-ADZ, had been in the air only since last Tuesday, when repairs following damage which it received in an accident at Hokitika several weeks ago were completed. The club's other machine, ZK-AAZ, is at present being inspected for a certificate of airworthiness, and it will be about two weeks before it is completed. In the meantime, the club has no machine for training, and this delay, together with a recent one of a month, will be a big loss to the club. Mr Quinney has an 'A' endorsed certificate for passenger carrying. He has had about 50- or 60-hours' flying experience, and is considered a very capable and careful flyer. He has been a member of the West Coast Club since its inception".

Blaketown is a suburb to the west of Greymouth on the West Coast of New Zealand. The Grey River separates Blaketown from Cobden, and the Blaketown Lagoon separates it from the centre of Greymouth. Greymouth Airport (IATA: GMN, ICAO: NZGM) is a small, uncontrolled aerodrome located in the suburb of Blaketown, 1 Nautical mile (1.9 km) south of the Greymouth CBD (Central Business District) on the West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand.

1. Otago Daily Times, 12 April 1937, Page 10: https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/ODT19370412.2.110
2. The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.) Monday 12 April 1937 Page 9 PLANE IN SEA: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/11056122
3. Kalgoorlie Miner (Kalgoorlie WA) Monday 12 Apr 1937 Page 4 PILOT'S LUCKY ESCAPE: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/87589488
4. AHSNZ, 1987, Journal, Vol 30 No 2.
5. https://www.ab-ix.co.uk/pdfs/dh60.pdf
6. http://www.adf-serials.com.au/nz-serials/nzdh60.htm
7. https://www.afleetingpeace.org/index.php/page-new-zealand-register/gn-z-zk?highlight=WyJ6ay1hZHoiXQ==
8. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/gy/reg_ZK-.html
9. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/dh/p008.html
10. https://air-britain.com/pdfs/archive/Archive_1981.pdf
11. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greymouth_Airport
12. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blaketown

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
14-Nov-2023 19:30	Ron Averes	Added
14-Mar-2024 18:14	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Time, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Location, Nature, Departure airport, Source, Narrative, Category]
14-Mar-2024 18:15	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Time, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Location, Nature, Departure airport, Source, Narrative, Category]