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Story: Air crashes

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.

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New Zealand Herald

Permission of the New Zealand Herald 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/6546/kaimai-crash (accessed 10 June 2026).

Story by Nancy Swarbrick, published 2 March 2009.

Comments

David Croxton
04 July 2013
I note the weather and forecast have been recorded as the major cause of the crash. The pilot was lost and below a safe height before he was caught in the down draught and flew into the western side of the range. Not the Tauranga side. My father was one of or the forecaster for that day & flight. I believe he would have given a good forecast but it wasn't his choice to fly that day. It was a very bad day for him as well.
Cameron Scott
29 June 2012
There appears to be a serious error here. In the NZ Herald photo archives, the caption says the circles indicate members of the search party - not the location of victim's bodies.