Kaimai crash

Kaimai crash

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. This photograph shows the wreckage soon afterwards, with the location of bodies circled.