30 Years ago today: On 8 August 1989 an Aspiring Air Britten-Norman BN-2A-26 Islander crashed in the Upper Dart Valley, NZ, killing all 10 occupants.
| Date: | Tuesday 8 August 1989 |
| Time: | 10:35 |
| Type: | Britten-Norman BN-2A-26 Islander |
| Operator: | Aspiring Air |
| Registration: | ZK-EVK |
| C/n / msn: | 583 |
| First flight: | 1977-03-10 (12 years 5 months) |
| Total airframe hrs: | 8350 |
| Engines: | 2 Lycoming O-540-E4C5 |
| Crew: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Passengers: | Fatalities: 9 / Occupants: 9 |
| Total: | Fatalities: 10 / Occupants: 10 |
| Aircraft damage: | Damaged beyond repair |
| Location: | Upper Dart Valley ( New Zealand) |
| Phase: | En route (ENR) |
| Nature: | Domestic Non Scheduled Passenger |
| Departure airport: | Wanaka Airport (WKA/NZWF), New Zealand |
| Destination airport: | Milford Sound Airport (MFN/NZMF), New Zealand |
Narrative:
Islander ZK-EVK departed from Wanaka on a VFR scenic flight to Milford Sound but failed to arrive. Wreckage from the aircraft was subsequently located on steep snow covered mountainous terrain at elevations up to 5400 feet. Following initial impact, major portions of the aircraft, including the fuselage, had fallen over precipitous bluffs
Probable Cause:
PROBABLE CAUSE: “The lack of direct evidence to account, operationally or structurally, for the manner in which the aircraft struck the mountain slope, the remoteness of the site which provided no witness observation to describe the aircraft’s flight path prior to the event and the absence of any survivor, combined to preclude a determination of the accident’s probable cause.”
