Today in History
3 July
1963 DC-3 crashes in Kaimai Range
In what is still New Zealand's worst internal civil aviation accident, all 23 passengers and crew were killed. Helicopters were used for the first time in the search and rescue operation that followed.
The National Airways Dakota DC-3 left from Whenuapai Airport, Auckland, bound for Wellington via Tauranga, Gisborne and Napier around 8.15 a.m. Shortly after 9 a.m. the pilot made contact with the Tauranga aircraft control tower. His ETA was 9.08. By 9.16 the plane had not arrived. Two calls to the aircraft drew no response and fears for its safety were raised.
The weather was stormy. A Court of Enquiry
into the crash later concluded that at the time of the accident the winds were
much stronger than had been forecast. The plane would have been drifting west
of the planned route without the crew being aware of it. The pilot probably
thought he was on the eastern (Tauranga) side of the Kaimai Ranges.
He therefore began his descent to Tauranga
Airport from the wrong
position. During its descent the aircraft was caught in a downdraught that was
too turbulent for the pilot to climb out of. The DC-3 slammed into a ridge on
Deteriorating weather conditions hampered the rescue operation. A helicopter assisted a RNZAF Bristol Freighter to search the ridgelines. The wreckage was found at 11:58 a.m. A closer inspection by helicopter was unable to spot any survivors and rescuers were dropped as near to the site as possible. They were unable to make their way to the wreckage that day. The weather cleared the next day and the recovery operation began, using a second helicopter.
Image: wreckage from the crash (Te Ara )
