We’re still collecting data for this aircraft. Routes appear once we’ve seen it fly enough times.
The single engine airplane departed Waimate Airport, bound to a local farm for a crop spraying mission, carrying one passenger and one pilot. Shortly after takeoff, while climbing to an altitude of about 300-400 feet, the aircraft entered a stratus area when the engine apparently lost power. The aircraft entered a nose-down attitude then crashed in the Waihao River. The passenger was killed and the pilot was seriously injured. The aircraft was totally destroyed. Probable cause (official finding
Fletcher FU-24 · 1 fatalities