ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 63561
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| Date: | Thursday 28 November 1957 |
| Time: | c. 13:15 LT |
| Type: |  De Havilland DH-82A Tiger Moth |
| Owner/operator: | Mr S R G Bethune |
| Registration: | ZK-BGS |
| MSN: | 85106 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Sea off Ohau Point, Wellington 1 -
 New Zealand
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Whanganui Airport, Whanganui, New Zealand (WAG/NZWU) |
| Woodbourne (Marlborough) Airport, Belnheim, New Zealand (NZWB) | |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information verified through data from accident investigation authorities |
de Havilland DH.82a Tiger Moth MSN 85106; Taken on charge as T6859 at 10 MU RAF Hullavington, Chippenham, Wiltshire 25.10.41. To 102 [Glider] Operational Training Unit, RAF Kidlington, Oxfordshire 27.2.42; redesignated 5 Glider Training School, RAF Kidlington 30.6.42. To 1 Glider Training School, RAF Croughton, Northamptonshire 25.7.42. Crashed 11,42 (presumably at RAF Croughton); to Taylorcraft, Rearsby, Leicesterhire for repairs 20.11.42. To 9 MU RAF Cosford, Wolverhampton, Staffordshire 4.1.43 for repairs. To 659 Squadron, RAF Firbeck 27.5.43; to RAF Clifton 8.43. To 38 MU RAF Llandow, Glamorgan 30.4.44. To RAF Tarrant Rushton Station Flight 29.6.45. Returned to 38 MU RAF Llandow, Glamorgan 21.3.46. To OCCS[A] at Empire Test Pilots School, Cranfield 8.7.46 [earmarked for crop-spraying commitment]. To A&AEE Boscombe Down 30.6.48. To 10 MU RAF Hullavington, Chippenham, Wiltshire 15.12.48 for long-term storage pending disposal.
Struck off charge when sold 17.1.50 to Air Service Training Ltd, Hamble. UK civil registered as G-ALWT (C of R 14901/1) on 24.1.50 to Air Service Training Ltd, Hamble, Hampshire. C of A 10808 issued 12.4.50. New C of R No. R474 issued later in 1950. Registration cancelled.lapsed 5.12.52 and registration restored (C of R 474/2) on 9.12.52 to Hants & Sussex Aviation Ltd, Portsmouth Airport, Portsmouth, Hampshire. Registration G-ALWT cancelled 10.12.52 as "sold".
Re-registered in New Zealand as ZK-BCF 3.3.53 to Adastra Ltd, Mount Maunganui. NZ CofA issued 3.2.54. Registered 26.3.54 to Roy Webb-Pullman, t/a Kaitaia Commercial Aviation. Crashed Herekino 13.4.54. Registration cancelled 28.5.54. Re-registered as ZK-BGS 29.9.54 to W M Sanderson, Tauranga and rebuilt. Registered 7.5.56 to Stuart Robert George Bethune, Pukeatua. NZ C of A issued 26.7.56
Missing 28.11.57, believed cashed into the Cook Strait, just north of Ohau Point. Pilot Stuart Robert George Bethune (aged 26) and his father Mr. J.E.Bethune missing, believed killed. Two interplane struts and some splintered wooden pieces from the aircraft were found, but there has been no other trace of ZK-BGS or its occupants.
The Tiger Moth landed at New Plymouth aerodrome earlier in the day and the pilot was shown the 09:00 Aero Weather report. The aircraft continued to Wanganui and departed there at 11:48 bound for Blenheim, reporting overhead at Paraparaumu airport. The weather at Wanganui at the time was: Wind 290 degrees at 30 knots and gusting to 45 knots, 5/8 cloud at 800 feet and intermittent heavy rain.
The Tiger Moth was seen over Paraparaumu by the controller who, thinking that the plane was going to land, flashed a green light signal. The plane continued south and was last seen at 13:15, flying low in bad weather along the coastline of Ohau Bay to the north of Ohau Point.
During the morning a southerly cold front that had been expected to miss Wellington changed direction and reached the vicinity of Ohau Point about the same time as the missing aircraft. At the passage of the front the wind was recorded at the Brothers Islands lighthouse as 210 degrees at 53 knots, and the visibility almost zero in heavy rain.
It is believed that the severe wind and poor visibility encountered at the leading edge of the front caused Stuart Bethune to lose control of his aircraft and crash into the sea.
R.I.P.
Registration ZK-BGS cancelled 27.3.58 as "destroyed"
Sources:
1. Royal Air Force Aircraft T1000-V9999 (James J Halley, Air Britain)
2. https://cwsprduksumbraco.blob.core.windows.net/g-info/HistoricalLedger/G-ALWT.pdf
3. http://archway.archives.govt.nz/ViewEntity.do?code=7333
4. https://air-britain.com/pdfs/production-lists/DH82.pdf
5. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/dh/p851.html
6. https://www.topomap.co.nz/NZTopoMap/nz42579/Ohau-Bay/
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 22-May-2009 12:58 | XLerate | Added |
| 25-Jun-2009 18:09 | angels one five | Updated |
| 15-May-2011 05:12 | angels one five | Updated [Time, Operator, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Narrative] |
| 10-Oct-2011 12:14 | angels one five | Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Operator, Location, Departure airport, Narrative] |
| 09-Nov-2020 01:28 | angels one five | Updated [Aircraft type, Narrative] |
| 18-Nov-2021 19:44 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Operator, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, Category] |
| 18-Nov-2021 19:45 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Narrative] |
| 29-Dec-2021 04:56 | angels one five | Updated [Location, Narrative] |
| 30-Jan-2022 07:03 | Ron Averes | Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Location] |
| 19-Feb-2022 02:15 | Ron Averes | Updated [Location] |
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