Plane crash victims named

BY MARIKA HILL, MICHAEL CUMMINGS AND STUFF.CO.NZ

Fire crews have removed the bodies of the two victims of an air crash near Feilding, as an investigation into the cause of the accident continues.

Two Cessna 152s collided about 3.30pm Monday, 5.6km south-east of Feilding.

Flying instructor Jess Neeson, 27, and Patricia Smallman, 64, from Waikanae, were killed when their plane crashed into a farmer's paddock.

The other aircraft landed safely at nearby Taonui Airfield.

The pilot, a man in his late 20s, was uninjured.

Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC) Investigator Ian McClelland said said there had been "a few" challenges extracting the bodies from the wreckage.

They were removed just after 1pm.

Their focus at this stage was gathering evidence, he said.

"It's just if you like a jigsaw puzzle, building up those pieces as we go along."

At this stage they were preparing to interview five people, including witnesses.

They were yet to speak with the survivor of the crash, Mr McClelland said.

Police and Transport Accident Investigation Commission staff started the grim task of removing the bodies of the two women who died in the crash this morning.

Senior Sergeant Nigel Allan said the first part of the work would be done inside a tent, which was put up over the crashed Cessna 152.

TRIBUTES FOR PILOT 

Described as a wonderful person and "superb" pilot, Jess Neeson died doing what she loved – flying.

The flying instructor, 27, and a student in her 60s, from the Kapiti Coast, were killed when their plane crashed into a farmer's paddock.

Ms Neeson, who grew up near Taumarunui, had been working at Flight Training Manawatu for five years.

When the Manawatu Standard visited the Feilding Aerodrome, the trainee pilots looked visibly shaken.

Some were crying while others were white with shock.

Chief executive Michael Bryant said Ms Neeson was well liked and a superb pilot.

"I just feel very distressed and upset. She was a wonderful person and had an amazing career ahead of her. She was a terrific person."

About 50 students attend the training centre, many of whom are aged under 30.

Mr Bryant said they were extremely upset, with many having never experienced this type of loss before.

"The hardest is yet to come."

Flight will not operate from the centre today and counselling has been offered to the students.

Ms Neeson took a Manawatu Standard reporter and photographer on a flight to photograph the property of slain farmer Scott Guy hours after he was gunned down on July 8.

Reporter Jessica Sutton was scheduled to take a training flight with Ms Neeson on Monday.

"She was just incredibly passionate about flying and it inspired me to do it too," Sutton said.

"She was so lovely and friendly and I was really looking forward to having a flight with her. I was shocked as soon as I found out it was her."

In May, Ms Neeson had also been interviewed by the Manawatu Standard about her love of flying.

She aspired to be a pilot after her parents took her for a flight around Mt Ruapehu when she was 12.

The crash scene was guarded overnight and the Transport Accident Investigation Commission will be leading the investigation into the cause of the crash.

PREVIOUS CRASHES

A Piper Tomahawk crashed into the Ruahine Range, near Pohangina, on July 12. Hawke's Bay-based pilots, flight instructor Gary Skedgwell, 30, and trainee Sam Metzger, 18, were seriously injured.

Three Ohakea Air Force Base airmen, Flight Lieutenant Hayden Peter Madsen, 33, co-pilot Flying Officer Daniel Stephen Gregory, 28, and crewman Corporal Benjamin Andrew Carson, 25, were killed on Anzac Day when their Iroquois crashed into a hillside near Pukerua Bay.

Palmerston North pilot Dave Fielding, 30, the base manager of The Square Trust rescue helicopter, died when the Helipro helicopter, in which he was an examiner, and a Cessna plane collided in mid-air over Paraparaumu in February 2008.

The Cessna's pilot, Raumati schoolboy Bevan Hookway, 17, and trainee helicopter pilot James Taylor, 19, of Waikanae, were also killed.

Massey University aviation students Brandon James Gedge, 20, of Tauranga, and Dae Jin Hwang, 27, of West Auckland, were found dead in their cockpits after their single-engine Cherokee Warrior trainers crashed on to farmland after a mid-air collision near Shannon in February 2006.

- © Fairfax NZ News