Date & Time:
Oct 23, 1942
Type of aircraft:
Airspeed AS.10 Oxford
Operator:
Registration:
NZ277
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Training
Survivors:
No
Site:
Mountains
Schedule:
New Plymouth - New Plymouth
MSN:
499
YOM:
1940
Country:
New Zealand
Region:
Oceania
Crew on board:
4
Crew fatalities:
4
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
0
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
4
Circumstances:
The crew was engaged in a training mission and departed New Plymouth AFB in the day. The airplane failed to return to base and was lost without trace. SAR operations were initiated but eventually suspended few days later as no trace of the airplane nor the crew was found. A hunter found the burned wreckage in a wooded area located on Mt Egmont on 17 January 1974. Mt Egmont was later renamed Mt Taranaki.
Crew:
P/O Rodney Dandy,
Sgt Edward Dodson,
Sgt Graham Martin,
Sgt Douglas Martyn.
Crew:
P/O Rodney Dandy,
Sgt Edward Dodson,
Sgt Graham Martin,
Sgt Douglas Martyn.
Probable cause:
Controlled flight into terrain. The crew was bothered by the sudden deterioration of the weather conditions while flying in a valley close to Mt Egmont. Due to poor visibility and low ceiling, the crew was unable to locate the mountain on which the aircraft crashed.
