AO-1990-005T Piper PA 38 ZK-KVM, collision with terrain while low flying, Pohangina Valley, 24 November 1990

The pilot was one of a group of seventh formers camping in the vicinity of a local airstrip. He and a friend left the group in the afternoon to hire an aircraft. Returning to the area, he flew two passes over the airstrip from the north east before making a third low level flight from the west up the centre-line toward his classmates on the ground. Just before reaching them he turned the aircraft to enter the valley of the Matanganui stream. Shortly afterwards witnesses observed the aircraft in a wing-over manoevre and saw it nose-dive out of sight, followed by the sound of an impact. The passenger was killed and the pilot seriously injured in the accident.