Dead man was skilled aerobatic pilot

The man who died in a plane crash near Stratford was a skilled aerobatic pilot, a close friend says.

Police yesterday named the dead man as Colin David Greatrex, 52 of Auckland, he is survived by his wife Joan who did not want to speak to the media.

Mr Greatrex's body was found beside his light aircraft, a Pitts Special single engined stunt plane, in a field off Tuna Rd, about 8km north of Stratford, about 4pm on Sunday.

Civil Aviation Authority investigators arrived at the scene yesterday and are expected to be there for two days.

David Cranna had known Mr Greatrex for about 10 years through their involvement in the New Zealand Aerobatic Club.

"He was a very accomplished pilot," Mr Cranna said.

The news of Mr Greatrex's death had hit members of the club hard.

"I was pretty devastated," he said.

Mr Cranna said Mr Greatrex was a well respected and liked club member.

Mr Greatrex crashed while piloting the bi-plane through the Stratford Gap, on his way from Ohakea to Ardmore.

Sergeant Mark Johnson, of Stratford, said he had yesterday spoken to pilots who were in the air around the time of the crash but had landed at Stratford.

"That was because of the poor weather at the time," Mr Johnson said.

CAA safety investigator Tom McCready said he would not be jumping to any conclusions about the cause of the crash.

"It is a real mistake to say oh well it is the weather," Mr McCready, an engineer and pilot, said.

There was evidence weather conditions were bad but Mr McCready was not discounting anything.

"People have told me it wasn't the best but that doesn't mean it wasn't flyable," he said.

Investigators would gather information from the site, take measurements and record them.

Mr McCready would also be speaking to engineers and pilots about the type of aircraft Mr Greatrex was flying.

"We look at everything," he said.

Mr McCready said the name, the Stratford Gap, was a misnomer.

"Pilots have a different perception of what they are going through.

"People think of it like a valley, it is not actually a gap, it is a ridge. The ground climbs up from both ends," he said.

- © Fairfax NZ News