Date:	Thursday 9 February 1961
Time:	c. 1535
Type:	Piper PA-18A-150 Super Cub
Owner/operator:	Aerial Farming (Holdings) Ltd
Registration:	ZK-BRT
MSN:	18-5597
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Other fatalities:	0
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Category:	Accident
Location:	near Kimbolton, Manawatu 2 -   New Zealand
Phase:	Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.)
Nature:	Agricultural
Departure airport:	Farm airstrip
Destination airport:
Confidence Rating:	Information verified through data from accident investigation authorities

Narrative:
Pilot : Michael Roy Lucas (22).
R.I.P.

ZK-BRT was engaged in an aerial topdressing operation.

The pilot started work at the Silk property at 1345 and stopped for refuelling at 1515.
The aircraft's starboard tank was fuelled to capacity but nothing was added to the port tank, the sight gauge of which was indicating contents of 3 to 4 gallons.

On the third or forth flight after the refuelling stop a witness saw the aircraft jettisoning the hopper load just after it had entered a medium to steep left turn. The aircraft then dived to the ground and crashed.

The plane struck the ground in a near-vertical attitude and was wrecked. There was no fire. This was not a survivable accident.
An examination of the wreckage showed no reason for the loss of control.
When the tail of the PA-18A was pulled to the ground the engine lifted from the dirt where it had been buried, and it was found that the engine was rotatable by hand.
The condition of the propeller showed that it was stationary at the moment of impact.

The fuel cock, or selector, was found to be on the port fuel tank.
This tank was found to be empty.

The investigator concluded that the engine had lost all power owing to fuel starvation.
This fuel starvation was caused by the fuel cock being selected to an empty tank.
This sudden loss of engine power caused the plane to stall and crash.

The pilot was relatively inexperienced. He had flown a total of 393 hours of which 93 were on agricultural operations.

He also had a history of flying accidents, having been involved in two major crashes in his career. Nine days before his fatal crash the pilot had returned to his base with just three gallons of fuel in the system, an action that caused him to be reprimanded and told that any repetition would result in his dismissal.

The investigator concluded his report :
" The accident was caused by mismanagement of the fuel system which resulted in engine failure and loss of control at an altitude which precluded control being regained before the aircraft struck the ground."

Aircraft Accident Report No. 15/3/1129.

1. Civil Air Accident Files, Archives New Zealand
2. King, John (1995). Aviation Accidents and Disasters. New Zealand Tragedies. Wellington: Grantham House. p. 170. ISBN 1 86934 042 6.

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
22-May-2009 12:58	XLerate	Added
31-May-2009 19:52	XLerate	Updated
14-Jun-2011 03:16	angels one five	Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Operator, Location, Phase, Nature, Departure airport, Source, Damage, Narrative, ]
15-May-2013 18:39	angels one five	Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Operator, Departure airport, Narrative, ]
15-May-2013 18:42	angels one five	Updated [Location, Narrative, ]
12-Jan-2017 05:51	angels one five	Updated [Narrative, ]
27-Sep-2021 08:27	Ron Averes	Updated [Location, ]
10-Feb-2022 13:23	Ron Averes	Updated [Aircraft type, ]
13-Feb-2022 03:40	Ron Averes	Updated [Location, ]