Man dies in crash

Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 6, Issue 274, 14 February 1989, Page 3

Man dies in crash

A 50 year-old Auckland man died in an air crash at Ward's airstrip on Sunday February 5.

The man, Paul Anthony Webster of Glendene, was flying a friend's home-built aircraft when the accident happened, about 7pm on the Sunday evening. He was coming into land at the strip in the small Resurgum Mark One aircraft when, eye witnesses say, a wing collapsed thus rendering the aircraft uncontrollable. The craft was about 50 to 80 metres above ground level before dropping to the ground, on the opposite side of State

Highway Four to the strip. Chief inspector of air accidents Mr Ron Chippendale visited the crash site the day after the accident and the craft has been taken to Wellington for examination. Mr Rob McCallum, who was one of the first witnesses to reach the crash site, said by the time he got to the scene the man appeared to be dead. Mr McCallum is a member of the microlight club who hosted the fly-in which Mr

Webster was taking part in. Mr McCallum said the craft was estimated to be travelling faster than its top speed of 60 knots as it was coming in to land. Mr Webster was an experienced pilot but had flown the Resurgum only a few times. He said the craft was not a microlight, but a home built aircraft. The difference being that a microlight is normally factory built and stringently tested before sale and that the Resurgum craft is built privately using different design and construction methods.