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Story: Air crashes

A 1954 air crash

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A 1954 air crash

Crowds gather near the wreckage of a National Airways Corporation DC3 which crashed in suburban Raumati, north of Wellington, on 22 May 1954. Both engines failed shortly before landing, and although they were started again the pilots lost control of the aircraft. Three children died in the crash, but the other 23 people on board survived.

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library, Dominion Post Collection (PA-Group-00685)

Reference: EP-Accidents-Aviation-Aircraft-01

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page

Nancy Swarbrick, Air crashes – Accidents and the development of aviation, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/6543/a-1954-air-crash (accessed 11 June 2026).

Story by Nancy Swarbrick, published 2 March 2009.