ZK-AYZ Air Disaster Memorial. Kaimai Ranges. New Zealand.
S 37° 41.765 E 175° 49.565
60H E 396507 N 5827256
Against the background of the rugged mountain peaks, a memorial stands by the roadside, remembering the ZK-AYZ plane crash on the Kaimai Ranges and the death of all 3 crew and 20 passengers, New Zealand's Worst Internal Air Disaster.
Waymark Code: WM9PT1
Location: North Island, New Zealand
Date Posted: 09/15/2010
Views: 5
The worst air accident within New Zealand occurred on 3 July 1963, when a National Airways Corporation DC3 slammed into the Kaimai Range during its descent towards Tauranga. All 23 people on board perished. A major cause of the crash was atrocious weather, which created strong downdraughts over the range.
Flight 441 from Auckland to Tauranga on 3 July 1963 began as a typical National Airways Corporation DC-3 flight of the era. On board was a cross section of New Zealanders; male and female, Maori and Pakeha, young and old. They were travelling on business, on holiday or to attend family events.
These twenty-three people died when National Airways Corporation flight 441 from Auckland to Tauranga flew straight into a rock face on the western side of the Kaimai range above Matamata. The DC-3 exploded on impact.
As the plane began its descent towards Tauranga it was caught in a downdraught and slammed into a ridge on the Kaimai Range. Insufficient altitude and navigational problems contributed to the crash, but the ferocious winds were the deciding factor. It took two days for rescuers to locate and reach the crash site.
John Henderson was one of the first people on the scene of New Zealand's worst domestic air disaster.
He went in by helicopter with pioneering pilot Mike Alexander and it was a first for both of them - Dr Henderson had never jumped from a helicopter before and it was the first time a helicopter had been used in a search and rescue operation in New Zealand.
MEMORIAL: Nearly four decades after the National Airways Corporation Skyliner crashed in the rugged Kaimai Ranges west of Tauranga, killing 23 passengers and crew, the site had still not been marked.
But a four-member committee led by an Auckland aviation historian, the Rev Richard Waugh, who was chaplain to the Air Pilots' Guild, wanted to change that in time for the 40th anniversary.
The Kaimai Crash Project committee with the backing of the Matamata-Piako District Council planned a "long-overdue" service to unveil a large plaque at an accessible Kaimai spot, listing all the names of those who died.
The memorial to the crash was dedicated on 5 July 2003, on the 40th anniversary of the crash, at Gordon, near Matamata. The actual site of the crash is 9 kms NE from this site, high up in the Ranges seen behind the memorial. A smaller memorial plaque was erected at the actual accident scene.
Disaster Date: 07/03/1963
Date of dedication: 07/05/2003
Memorial Sponsors: The Kaimai Crash Project led by an Auckland aviation historian, the Rev Richard Waugh, who was chaplain to the Air Pilots' Guild.
Disaster Type: Technological
Relevant Website: [Web Link]
Parking Coordinates: Not Listed
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