KEY POINTS:
A topdressing pilot was killed not far from an airstrip in Taranaki yesterday.
Kevin Ross Brown, 48, from Stratford, crashed in a paddock in Tarata, 19km east of Inglewood, about noon.
The Taranaki Rescue helicopter was the first on scene after the crash. Its pilot, Rob Van Lieshout, said Mr Brown was dead when he arrived. The plane had crashed into the hillside not far from the airstrip.
It looked as if it had just taken off, because it was facing away from the airstrip, Mr Van Lieshout said.
The plane had broken up on impact, but was pretty much in one piece with its wings still attached, he said.
The topdressing job the pilot had been on was about 3km away from the airstrip. The weather was fine.
The Civil Aviation Authority is investigating and a crash investigator will visit the site today.
- NZPA
