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| Date: | Tuesday 18 March 1969 |
| Time: | c. 07:55 . |
| Type: |  Piper PA-23-160 Apache F |
| Owner/operator: | Aztec Air Ltd |
| Registration: | ZK-BYB |
| MSN: | 23-1828 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 5 / Occupants: 5 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Mt Patutu, Seaward Kaikoura Range -
 New Zealand
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Passenger |
| Departure airport: | NZCH |
| NZWN | |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information verified through data from accident investigation authorities |
Pilot B.W. Boyd-Clark and his four passengers were killed when the aircraft collided with a cloud-covered ridge in the Seaward Kaikoura Ranges while on a flight from Christchurch to Wellington.
The aircraft was flying on a Visual Flight Rules (VFR) flight plan at an altitude of 3,500 feet. Conditions on the route were cloudy and it appears that the aircraft entered cloud and the pilot, who was not instrument flight rated but had some limited training in flying an aircraft on instruments, initiated a descent in order to maintain flight in Visual Meteorological Conditions (VMC). In the course of this descent the aircraft collided with a ridge on the side of Mount Patutu (south of Clarence) at about 2,600 feet AMSL. The Apache was destroyed by the impact. Fire did not occur.
Sources:
http://archway.archives.govt.nz/ViewEntity.do?code=7333
NZ Register
Wings over NZ Forum
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 7 May 1965 | ZK-BYB | Golden Coast Airlines Ltd | 0 | Westport Aerodrome, West Coast | |
sub |
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 22-May-2009 12:58 | XLerate | Added |
| 22-Dec-2010 05:59 | angels one five | Updated [Aircraft type, Cn, Location, Damage, Narrative, ] |
| 24-Nov-2011 13:30 | G.d. | Updated [Total occupants, Departure airport, Destination airport, ] |
| 08-May-2017 23:53 | angels one five | Updated [Aircraft type, Cn, Operator, Total fatalities, Other fatalities, Location, Phase, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 09-May-2017 02:31 | angels one five | Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Narrative, ] |
| 31-May-2018 05:53 | Ron Averes | Updated [Aircraft type, ] |
| 31-May-2018 07:04 | Ron Averes | Updated [Aircraft type, ] |
| 08-Aug-2020 03:36 | Ron Averes | Updated [Location, ] |
| 31-Jan-2022 00:54 | Ron Averes | Updated [Aircraft type, ] |
| 01-Feb-2022 06:54 | Ron Averes | Updated [Location, Narrative, ] |
| 02-Feb-2022 02:34 | Ron Averes | Updated [Operator, Location, ] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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