ZK-FMQ 6

This Site is dedicated to all those families of the people that have tragically disappeared on flights in and around New Zealand. I only hope that from all the effort in building this site and from all the effort of those taking part in this venture, that it will bear fruit in bringing ‘closure’ to their memories!
Gavin Grimmer

Email: gavin@findlostaircraft.co.nz

NEW ZEALAND

P: +646 222 6322

E: support@getgecko.nz

W: www.getgecko.nz

Brodrick Pass is over 5000 ft high and Ryan must have been lucky enough to have the weather clear enough to overfly that area, as to get into the following valley - the Landsborough - he had to fly over the Brodrick. The weather at Mt Cook which is just over the Ben Ohau Range from Lake Ohau, was reported at the time as a cloud base of 5000 to 7000 ft. The fact that he made it over is proven by sightings of a light coloured plane flying down the Landsborough and turning right into the Haast River Valley.....

And then by all the sightings of FMQ from Haast down to Jacksons Bay!!!

Of those observations, 5 x people said it was a “red and white” plane, 7 x people described it as a “light coloured” plane, most of them believed it was the “whitebait plane” (had no reason not to), and 3 x only “heard” a plane. According to their accounts, it appears that Ryan flew down towards his destination (Waitoto), but had to fly around ** a severe hail storm that was over Waitoto at that time, then carried on towards Jackson Bay - presumably to see if the weather was clear enough further south to get to Cascade Whitebait’s other airstrip at the Cascade River mouth - but this was presumably ‘clagged in’ also, as he was seen by people at Jackson Bay (using binoculars) turn and fly north again.

**I say “around a severe hail storm” as hail is associated with cumulonimbus (Cb) clouds of very high vertical development - too

high for a Cessna 180 to climb over, as thought in some of the reports.

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