What happened
On the afternoon of the accident, a trainee pilot employed by James Aviation was operating a Fletcher FU24, registration ZK-BOB, for agricultural topdressing duties. The pilot, a former Royal Canadian Air and Force member with significant flight experience, had recently transitioned to New Zealand to pursue agricultural aviation. After completing three successful sorties, the pilot commenced a fourth flight mission.
During this final flight, observers on the airstrip noted that the engine noise had ceased. An instructor launched an immediate aerial search and discovered the aircraft crashed and burning approximately 400 metres from the intended sowing area. The wreckage was located in a depression roughly 92 metres below the level of the active topdressing zone. The impact was severe enough to throw the pilot from the cockpit, resulting in one fatality. The aircraft had cartwheeled during the descent, with the engine embedded deep in the ground and the fuselage central section destroyed by fire.
Findings
Investigation of the wreckage revealed significant damage to the port wing. A deep indentation was found on the leading edge of the inner wing section, which caused the rear spar to distort. This structural deformation jammed the aileron pulley in a position that would force the aircraft into a steep left-hand turn. Investigators also noted that a pine sapling near the wreckage had been severed by the propeller.
While no specific object was recovered from the site to explain the wing damage, evidence suggested the aircraft struck an obstruction while flying over trees at the edge of the sowing area. Traces of superphosphate were found leading from these trees toward the crash site, and flight simulations indicated that a steep turn over those specific trees would place the aircraft on a direct path to the final impact location. The investigation concluded that the aileron controls jammed following a mid-air collision with an object, making the subsequent steep turn unrecoverable.