KEY POINTS:
Brent Baldwin wasn't meant to be in the air on Saturday but his love of flying meant he could not refuse an offer for a quick cruise with his old Air Force buddy Wayne Matthews.
"It was like a spur of the moment thing," his widow, Lori Baldwin, said last night. "Wayne had taken my husband's friend up and then he came back and they were ready to leave and he said, 'Come on, you have time, let's do one more."
Mr Baldwin was last seen by his friend on the ground giving the thumbs up as the Thorp S-18, called Rosie 3, took off along the runway for a "touch and go" circuit.
"They touched down and went to do their second one ... but he only got to 500 feet before he did a sharp turn and crashed."
The homebuilt plane - which was being flown by Mr Matthews - nose-dived, clipped the side of a building and crashed into the ground, landing just metres from a highly flammable liquid oxygen storage area in the Whenuapai air base grounds.
The explosion was heard throughout the base and within seconds dozens of staff had run to the scene to find the crumpled wreckage on fire.
One of the first to arrive was an Air Force commanding officer who risked his life to try to save the men.
Not concerned about the highly flammable liquid oxygen, the officer reached into the front of the burning plane and pulled out Mr Baldwin, dragging him away from the debris. He was unable to free Mr Matthews, who later had to be cut out by fire-fighters.
Incident controller Wing Commander Richard Marshall said the officer received minor burns to his arms and a cut to his head while pulling Mr Baldwin out in such dangerous conditions.
"It was a huge explosion and [the wreckage] was on fire from that explosion. It was very heroic, really. The guy has really risked his life to try and save someone and in the process of it he has been hurt."
Yesterday afternoon many of the dead men's friends were still in a state of shock, not believing that such a tragedy was possible - especially with such a "meticulous" pilot as Mr Matthews.
The retired Air Force wing commander had spent around 1800 hours building the $100,000 Thorp S-18 and had recently flown it non stop around New Zealand. He spent nearly every second day either flying or cleaning his beloved aircraft and colleagues say it came second only to his wife and three children.
The 62-year-old was actively involved in the Whenuapai Aviation Sports Club where he was instrumental in implementing a number of projects.
Mr Baldwin, also a father of three, was also a former Air Force navigator but left about 17 years ago.
The 46-year-old had flown for the United Nations during the Iran/Iraq war before returning to New Zealand to start his own IT business.
Mrs Baldwin said flying was her husband's passion and he had recently joined the Whenuapai club.
"He was just in heaven when he was in the sky."
Club chief executive Rob Shearer said club members planned to hold a commemorative barbecue for the men next Saturday.
"It will be a BBQ and a few drinks and everyone will have the opportunity to have a few words - that's exactly what Wayne did. He would go flying and he would come back after a day's flying and have few beers at the club and talk about flying."
Meanwhile, the Civil Aviation Authority investigation, which is expected to take months, will continue today when the engine is removed for testing to see if it was still working when the plane nose-dived.
