ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 70225
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| Date: | Wednesday 28 November 1934 |
| Time: | day |
| Type: |  de Havilland DH.60M Moth |
| Owner/operator: | Martin A. Scott |
| Registration: | ZK-ADF |
| MSN: | 1399 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Waihou, Waikato -
 New Zealand
|
| Phase: | Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.) |
| Nature: | Demo/Airshow/Display |
| Departure airport: | Waihou, near Te Aroha |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
c/no 1399: DH.60M [Gipsy I] sold to DH Australia with C of A 2173 issued 10.8.29. Registered as VH-UMR [C of R 334] 4.11.29 to Alec Barlow, Melbourne; named “Sky Hawk”. Re-registered (undated) to K.E. Wedgwood, Sydney, NSW. Re-registered 31.8.30 to Central Australian Gold Exploration Co Pty Ltd, Sydney; named “Golden Quest”, and based at Alice Springs to search for Lewis Lasseter’s Gold Reef in Central Australia.
Crashed on take-off Yaiyai Creek 9.8.30. Wreckage initially to Alice Springs for rebuild and then to Adelaide in mid-October 1930. (Engine reportedly fitted to replacement DH.60 Moth VH-UGX). Sold to Commercial Aviation Co Ltd. Registration VH-UMR cancelled 30.4.31 as "withdrawn from use".
Re-registered (undated) to Keith Gardiner, Malvern, Victoria. Re-registered 10.5.33 to Miss D J Gardiner, Mascot, NSW. C of A lapsed 5.9.33; registration VH-UMR cancelled 9.5.34 as "withdrawn from use". Re-registered in New Zealand as ZK-ADF on 18.8.34 to Martin A. Scott, Auckland.
Written off 28.11.34 when collided in the air with Desoutter ZK-ACJ during an air display and crashed, killing pilot Clarence Clifton Waite aged 28 years, married, of Te Aroha. (Desoutter ZK-ACJ landed safely - see below). According to contemporary reports (see link #2):
TUESDAY 28 Nov 1934
Martin A. Scott’s de Havilland DH.60M Moth ZK-ADF and Waikato Aviation’s Desoutter I Monoplane ZK-ACJ
Some 300 spectators were present in the afternoon at a small air pageant held at the Te Aroha Aero Club grounds on George Goodfellow’s farm at Waihou. Although five aeroplanes were expected only two turned up for the event. The original programme included a mock dogfight between two Moth biplanes but this was amended to one between Moth ADF, piloted by Clarry Waite, and the Desoutter, piloted by Stan Blackmore, in the absence of the second Moth. Blackmore’s monoplane with its enclosed cabin offered only limited visibility compared to that of the Moth and was also less manoeuvrable, so it took up the role of a defender and the Moth that of an attacker. The two machines took off at about 3 o'clock and climbed to 1500 feet to begin the fight. Waite carried out four attacks but on his fifth collided with Blackmore’s tail. Right-hand wing struts of his Moth were seen to shatter and fall away, following which the biplane began to spin down rapidly, shedding fabric as it did so before crashing on the airfield, killing the pilot.
Blackmore was able to maintain control of his damaged Desoutter, though not without some difficulty, and managed to safely land in an adjoining field. His propeller struck the ground, however, causing the monoplane to overturn as it came to a halt. The propeller was damaged and the left tailplane severed. Blackmore was able to crawl out from his cabin suffering only a broken nose and some concussion. The pageant was promptly abandoned following the accident, the first fatal collision in New Zealand skies.
The Desoutter had been shipped to New Zealand following a long-distance flight from England to Australia by New Zealanders H. L. (‘Pip’) Piper and C. E. (‘Cyrus’) Kay during February-March 1930. It was finally written off in an accident in 1950.
Flying Officer Clarence Clifton (‘Clarry’) WAITE, NZAF, aged 29 (Karori Cemetery, Wellington)
Waite was an experienced and talented pilot. He obtained his ‘A’ Licence (No 149) (with the Hawke’s Bay & East Coast Aero Club?) in August 1930 and his ‘B’ (49) in October 1931. In the following month he was appointed to a commission in the NZAF, with whom he was still serving at the time of his death. A long-time member of the Wellington Aero Club, with whom he served as club captain, in April 1934 he transferred to Te Aroha to take up employment there with garage proprietors Waite & Grant. He was the local aero club’s club captain at the time of the accident. As mentioned earlier, he was also at one stage co-owner with Frank Gresser and Mr Connor of Avro 504K ZK-ACT. In his memory, Wellington Aero Club members later competed for a Waite Trophy for forced landings.
Stanley James (‘Stan’) BLACKMORE, aged 34
Blackmore obtained his ‘A’ Licence (No 163) in September 1930 and his ‘B’ (36) three months later. He was involved in a number of accidents during his career but probably none so life-threatening as his collision at Te Aroha.
Wreckage of ZK-ADF purchased 13.8.35 for rebuild by Auckland Aero Club, Mangere; registration restored to them 28.9.35. However, rebuild not completed and registration cancelled 22.4.36 as "lapsed"
Waihou is a rural settlement in the Matamata-Piako District and Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island. It is located on State Highway 26 between Te Aroha and Morrinsville and west of the Waihou River.
Sources:
1. New Zealand Herald, 29 November 1934, Page 10: https://freepages.rootsweb.com/~sooty/genealogy/miscairdeaths.html
2. https://rnzaf.proboards.com/thread/29754/clarence-clifton-waite?page=1
3. https://www.baaa-acro.com/crash/crash-de-havilland-dh60m-moth-waihou-1-killed
4. http://www.wattsbridge.com.au/files/news_qvag/avan_dec_2013.pdf
5. http://www.ab-ix.co.uk/dh60.pdf
6. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/dh/p013.html
7. As VH-UMR: https://www.afleetingpeace.org/index.php/page-australian-register/vh-ua-um?highlight=WyJ2aC11bXIiXQ==
8. As ZK-ADF: https://www.afleetingpeace.org/index.php/page-new-zealand-register/gn-z-zk?highlight=WyJ2aC11bXIiXQ==
9. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/221560715/clarence-clifton-waite
10. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/gy/reg_ZK-.html
11. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waihou
12. AHSNZ, 1987, Journal, Vol 30 No 3.
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 30-Nov-2009 07:55 | angels one five | Added |
| 24-May-2013 02:39 | angels one five | Updated [Registration, Cn, Operator, Location, Narrative] |
| 12-Feb-2014 16:34 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 04-Mar-2015 06:55 | angels one five | Updated [Aircraft type, Location, Departure airport] |
| 24-Aug-2017 12:46 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Source, Narrative] |
| 25-Oct-2020 14:49 | Sergey L. | Updated [Source] |
| 23-Jan-2022 04:02 | Ron Averes | Updated [Aircraft type] |
| 05-Feb-2022 04:50 | Ron Averes | Updated [Location] |
| 05-Nov-2023 09:05 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Operator, Location, Source, Narrative, Category] |
| 12-Nov-2023 02:38 | Ron Averes | Updated [Operator, Location] |
| 15-Nov-2023 05:23 | Ron Averes | Updated [Aircraft type, Source] |
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