By DPA,
Wellington : Two people were killed when a home-built light aircraft stalled and crashed at an Air Force base in New Zealand, news reports said Sunday.
The plane’s pilot 62-year-old Wayne Matthews died instantly with his sole passenger Brent Baldwin, 46, when the Thorp S-18 crashed Saturday at Whenuapai near Auckland.
Matthews was a retired air force commander who recently set a record for a solo flight around New Zealand.
He was also reported to be vice-president of New Zealand’s Sport Aircraft Association.
Civil aviation officials began an inquiry Sunday into the cause of the accident.