Remembering the Kaimai Range air disaster: Six decades since NAC Flight 441 tragedy

Hundreds of people assisted with the search operation, which took place in foul conditions in the Kaimai Range. Matamata Historical Society

Sixty years ago, on July 3, 1963, the nation was shocked by the loss of 23 lives, including seven from the Gisborne region, in what was and still is New Zealand’s worst domestic air disaster — the crash of NAC airliner “Hastings” in the Kaimai Ranges inland from Tauranga. This is the story of that fateful day.

There was a light wind and light rain as the passengers walked out to their plane at Whenuapai airport on the morning of July 3, 1963, but everyone was in a good mood as they were returning to home and family.

Their plane, a National Airways Corporation (NAC) Dakota DC3, had already been loaded with 16 bags of mail, destined for Gisborne, Napier and Wellington.

The metal fuselage of newly-refurbished ZK-AYZ “Hastings” gleamed in the early morning sunlight and the Gisborne passengers looked to be back home by around midday.

The DC3 was first scheduled to land at Tauranga, and the Gisborne passengers got on first, taking their places in the seats behind the cockpit, where 35-year-old Captain Leonard Derek Enchmarch and first officer Peter George Guinness Kissel were going through their pre-flight tasks.

There were two Gisborne couples who had been to Auckland to attend events — Eleanor Eileen Boddington (55) and her husband Huia Duncan (54), who had third-row seats on the left of the plane; and the Tolertons . . . Fred (81) and Ruth (57) who had third-row seats on the right side of the aisle.

Sarah Te Taumiria Seymour (27) a nurse with the Royal Flying Doctor service and from Te Araroa, had a window seat  in the second row on the left side.

Norman Geoffrey Morris (29) of the well-known Morris family, also had a left-side window seat in the fourth row.

Returning home on leave, 20-year-old Able Bodied Seaman Tuta Hongara Te Huranga Grace was in the aisle seat in the right-hand side second row, with two empty seats in the first row in front of him.

When 22-year-old NAC hostess Elizabeth Jill Louise Wilson had all 20 passengers settled and seat-belts fastened, the plane powered up, sped down the runway and took off. It was 8.21am  and flight 441 was on its way.

The flight path took it along the Kaimai Ranges, where it encountered what locals described as “atrocious weather” — wet and windy, with poor visibility.

With strong up and downdraughts, the turbulence would have made the ride a rough one, and there would have been little to see through the passenger windows apart from cloud scudding past.

Concern began when the aircraft failed to arrive at Tauranga.

Captain Enchmarch had been in radio contact with the Tauranga control tower — air traffic officer Murray Christopherson told the later inquiry the DC3 airliner called Tauranga at 9.04am.

“Tauranga this is AYZ. I will be with you in four minutes. Cruising 5500ft. Request present weather.”

The reply was: “AYZ. This is Tauranga. E.t.a. 9.08. (Estimated time of arrival) Cruising 5500. My present weather: surface wind 100 magnetic, 15 to 25 knots, visibility two to five nautical miles, intermittent light rain. 5/8 1200. 8/8 2000-3000 feet. (refers to the amount of cloud cover) Altimeter setting 1011. Clear to join Tauranga at 5500.”

Mr Christopherson said that was the last he heard from the aircraft until 9.06am when ZK-AYA (another plane) advised it was due overhead in two minutes and requested descent to 4100 feet.

He said he then exchanged messages with an aircraft travelling between Whakatane and Tauranga.

At 9.14am he called AYZ, and again at 9.15am, but received no reply.

Mr Christopherson said he then received a call from Matamata police at 9.20am saying they had had a report from a man at Gordon Quarry, south-east of Te Aroha, of heavy rain, the sound of DC3 engines . . that the engines roared then stopped abruptly.

The air traffic officer kept calling AYZ from 9.21am to 10am, but without reply.

Another aircraft flying from Hamilton across the Kaimai Ranges at 10am reported  severe downdraughts and recommended no aircraft fly below 7000 feet that day.

Mr Christopherson  told the inquiry: “At no time . . . did I have any suspicion that the aircraft was in any difficulty. The voices from the aircraft were perfectly normal and gave no sign of apprehension.”

Extremely steep terrain riven with deep gullies, and miserable wet weather made searching for the DC3 extremely difficult, and it was not until the following day, at about noon, that a sighting of possible wreckage was reported by a Bristol Freighter flying over the area.

For the first time helicopters were used in the search and ground parties finally reached the plane’s wreckage in a rocky ravine near the top of the ranges in the shadow of Mount Ngatamahinerua.

It was found the plane had struck a deep bush-clad rockface at an altitude of around 2460 feet and had caught fire on impact.

At the full inquiry towards the end of the year, it was determined that the plane had been blown off course, and was then subject to a terrific downdraught which, without warning, blasted the plane into the mountainside.

Nothing was found at fault with either the flying crew or the plane itself.

Later it was revealed that one passenger, Auckland businessman John Handley, had survived the crash and managed to crawl some 50 metres away from the wreckage, despite burns to his feet. Sadly he died of exposure before searchers reached the scene.

In the aftermath of the disaster, many changes were made to flying instructions, to ensure safe clearance of mountainous features.

More instrumentation was installed on planes, and rules for flying over the Kaimais were updated.

In November that year, the Kaimai Range was officially recognised as “mountainous terrain” in a notice issued by the Civil Aviation Administration.

A map was issued - the first of its type - with a notice saying pilots must fly not less than 2000 feet above terrain designated mountainous.

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Yesterday a number of events were held to commemorate the disaster, including an outdoor anniversary service  at the Old Te Aroha Road roadside memorial close to the crash site.

A fly-past tribute was also planned, by a surviving DC3 aircraft from Auckland.

In the afternoon,  a new commemorative display was to be opened at the Classic Flyers Museum at Tauranga Airport, including some items recently recovered from the crash site.