ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 48507
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| Date: | Sunday 29 September 1957 |
| Time: | c. 1515 |
| Type: | Waco UIC |
| Owner/operator: | Northern Districts Aero Club |
| Registration: | ZK-ALG |
| MSN: | 3820 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 5 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Whangarei Harbour, Northland -
 New Zealand
|
| Phase: | Initial climb |
| Nature: | Passenger - Non-Scheduled/charter/Air Taxi |
| Departure airport: | Whangarei NZWR |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
The Waco suffered engine failure shortly after taking off.
It ditched in Whangarei Harbour and a passenger died.
Ex ZK-ADE and NZ 574.
Commercial pilot James Finlay took off at about 1515 on a local scenic flight.
He was accompanied by two adult male passengers and a mother and her 1-year-old baby.
The pilot warmed up and tested the motor with the fuel tank selector set to the RH tank and then switched to the LH tank for the take off.
At a height of about 300 feet the engine failed and the pilot initiated a turn to the left, and applying carburettor heat, attempted to restart the motor after switching the fuel cock to the RH tank. This action was unsuccessful, but the pilot was able to get a brief burst of power by repeatedly depressing the plunger of the priming control.
As a landing in the harbour was now imminent the pilot had to cease his efforts to restart the engine and concentrate on a ditching.
The Waco touched down on the water and turned over, submerging all the occupants.
The pilot exited the cabin and made a courageous effort to help the passengers. He was able to assist the two men out and rescue the baby, but the child's mother was trapped and could not be saved.
Later that day the plane was salvaged and brought ashore.
An examination of the engine revealed no mechanical reason for the power failure.
There was seawater in the carburettor but no trace of petrol.
Fuel had been lost during the salvage operation when a tank filler cap was inadvertently dislodged.
The investigator was therefore unable to accurately ascertain the amount of fuel aboard the plane. The pilot insisted that fuel had been added just before the flight. However, a helper was adamant that the fuel was loaded prior to an earlier flight.
Owing to weight restrictions when carrying four persons the Waco could not be fuelled to capacity.
With 4 POB the max. fuel load permitted was 63 pounds or 8.75 Imperial Gallons. The pilot believed that he had 20 gallons of fuel in the tanks, but events showed the plane was carrying much less than this.
The aircraft flight manual stated that a take off should be made with at least 10 gallons in each tank. " This will ensure a steady and continual (sic) flow of gasoline to the carburettor ".
The crash investigator's report includes the following :
" 29 (i) The accident was caused by engine failure on take-off.
(ii) The engine failure was caused by fuel starvation.
(iii) Fuel starvation was caused by the petrol in the tank in use being forced to the outward end of the tank, thus vacating the tank outlets.
(iv) The movement of the petrol away from the tank outlets was caused by a state of unbalanced flight.
(v) The state of unbalanced flight was caused either by corrective control to overcome the left wing low tendency, or by uncoordinated control during take-off.
(vi) Underlying the causation factors is the inherent risk created by the design of the petrol system when the aircraft was flown on one partially-filled tank. "
Passenger : Mary Emily McTavish.
R.I.P.
Sources:
Aircraft Accident Report No. 25/3/870.
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 24-Nov-2008 11:40 | angels one five | Added |
| 23-Jun-2011 19:58 | angels one five | Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Operator, Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 23-Jun-2011 20:02 | angels one five | Updated [Total occupants] |
| 17-Apr-2013 03:49 | angels one five | Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Operator, Location, Departure airport, Narrative] |
| 24-Jan-2014 19:15 | angels one five | Updated [Narrative] |
| 26-Jan-2014 09:33 | angels one five | Updated [Narrative] |
| 22-Jan-2022 07:14 | Ron Averes | Updated [Aircraft type, Cn, Location] |
| 23-Oct-2022 04:40 | angels one five | Updated [Narrative] |
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