Saturday 19 April 2014

On this day in 1948


On 19th April 1948 NZ NAC Lockheed Electra ZK-AGJ "Kahu" (Commander A.C. Harris, First Officer G.E. Bruce) crashed while on landing approach at Tauranga aerodrome in a thunderstorm en route Gisborne-Auckland (Mangere) and when caught in a downdraft.


There were no casualties although the plane was badly damaged and later scrapped. The mail was retrieved and flown to Auckland on 20 April.



References

Dates from list compiled by Jinty Rorke for Tauranga 1882-1982, The Centennial of Gazetting Tauranga as a Borough, (ed. A.C. Bellamy), published in 1982 by the Tauranga City Council

Photographs courtesy of Tauranga Memories Kete, Tauranga Library
http://tauranga.kete.net.nz/tauranga_local_history/images/show/2429-nac-electra-kahu
http://tauranga.kete.net.nz/tauranga_local_history/images/show/2420-nac-electra-kahu
http://tauranga.kete.net.nz/tauranga_local_history/images/show/2422-nac-electra-kahu

Selections from the Ed Coates' Civil Aircraft Photograph Collection http://www.edcoatescollection.com/ac2/NZAM/ZK-AGJ.html

Air Mails of New Zealand
http://www.airmailsnz.com/page6.htm

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