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Post by Dave Homewood on Feb 17, 2018 13:41:10 GMT 12
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Post by delticman on Feb 17, 2018 14:01:42 GMT 12
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Post by kiwithrottlejockey on Feb 17, 2018 14:30:12 GMT 12
I can still vividly remember that crash.
I was living in Gisborne at the time and a Friendship at Gisborne Airport went u/s. Air New Zealand flew another Friendship from Auckland to Gisborne with two engineers onboard to try and sort out the u/s aircraft at Gisborne. The plan was to use the Friendship conveying the engineers to run a replacement passenger service from Gisborne if they couldn't sort out the u/s Friendship within a reasonable amount of time. However, the engineers managed to quickly sort out the problem with the u/s Friendship, so it loaded up with passengers and set out for its destination. The Friendship which had arrived with just the engineers as passengers then departed for Auckland, but as we know, it came to grief during the approach to Auckland Airport with the loss of one of the pilots and one of the engineers.
But what made this crash more newsworthy was the fact that neither of the rescue boats had a functioning engine at the time, so rescue personel had to row out to the aircraft wreckage. When the Minister of Transport at the time, Colin McLachlan, had the heat put on him by the news media about the deporable situation regarding the rescue boats, he replied, “they had oars, didn't they?” McLachlan was one of the most useless cabinet ministers ever, but he was a close mate of Prime Minister Rob Muldoon (they even jointly owned racehorses together), so he always had Muldoon watching his back. McLachlan's comment caused a real shit-storm at the time, but Muldoon bullied the news media into dropping it.
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Post by johnnyfalcon on Feb 17, 2018 14:46:34 GMT 12
Good summary KTJ. Of course there were many other questions raised...
Dave, I'm really surprised you were unaware of this tragedy.
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Post by delticman on Feb 17, 2018 14:56:38 GMT 12
Good summary KTJ. Of course there were many other questions raised... Dave, I'm really surprised you were unaware of this tragedy. I don't think the forced merger of Air NZ-NAC in April 1978 would have helped either, more interference by Muldoon and his cronies.
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Post by Dave Homewood on Feb 17, 2018 19:06:22 GMT 12
Dave, I'm really surprised you were unaware of this tragedy. I guess because I'm not a huge airline buff like some here I must have just missed any discussion about it. The incident itself is long before my interest in aeroplanes developed, I was just 8.
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Post by snaphead on Feb 18, 2018 7:47:58 GMT 12
The Air NZ Training School in Chc had a lot of the "bits" from the aircraft as training aids, control consolr, cable tensionometers undercarriage legs, engine acsings etc. We were told when the rescue boats arived they were very concerned about the "sizzling" coming from the engies but it was only the seawater reacting with the magnesium casing. We also were told that the fatality came about due to an insecure cargo of bungecords!! wrapping itself around him.
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Post by Peter Lewis on Feb 18, 2018 8:34:00 GMT 12
Friendship ZK-NFC in happier times, Auckland 18Aug1978
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Post by snaphead on Feb 19, 2018 8:00:12 GMT 12
There was actually another Air NZ F-27 crash BUT not in NZ. It was supposed to be the RNZAF's first F-27 conversion known as ZK BXA in NZ service. It had been leased to an Indineasiatn airline (Merpati I think) when it landed with the landing geag tucked UP. Sort of wrecked things a bit!!
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Post by Peter Lewis on Feb 19, 2018 11:04:38 GMT 12
ZK-BXA went to Merpati Nusantara Airlines on lease in early 1978 as PK-MFS, and was damaged at Palembang, Sumatra, Indonesia when landed with undercarriage retracted 18Dec78. The aircraft was repaired after that incident and went on to operate as 9V-BLE, PK-OBP and OO-SVN before finally succumbing in 1992.
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Post by agile on Feb 27, 2018 18:36:10 GMT 12
Not to mention BXG's little incident at Gisborne, which resulted in her taking early retirement.
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Post by kiwithrottlejockey on Feb 27, 2018 19:35:22 GMT 12
Was BXG the airliner which over-ran the southern end of the runway at Gisborne?
I can recall that incident, but it was so long ago that I cannot remember the exact details.
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Post by madmac on Feb 27, 2018 19:42:18 GMT 12
Anyone got any of the pics of ZK-NOA with her tail in the as removed by the 747?
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Post by Peter Lewis on Feb 28, 2018 8:30:57 GMT 12
ZK-NOA ??
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Post by rbwannabe on Feb 28, 2018 8:52:16 GMT 12
NAO, the remains are still parked over the back of the runway at Auckland.
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Post by agile on Feb 28, 2018 21:14:55 GMT 12
Was BXG the airliner which over-ran the southern end of the runway at Gisborne?
I can recall that incident, but it was so long ago that I cannot remember the exact details.
I assume it only happened the once. 10 October 1988 according to Mr Google. Denys might have more details.
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Post by delticman on Feb 28, 2018 21:59:21 GMT 12
Was BXG the airliner which over-ran the southern end of the runway at Gisborne?
I can recall that incident, but it was so long ago that I cannot remember the exact details.
I assume it only happened the once. 10 October 1988 according to Mr Google. Denys might have more details. In 1989 I was over at Gisborne and the chap I was with told be about it. It had been kept out of the media but the more he told me, the more scary it became. We went out on the runway at the piano marker and the gouges were still on the runway. It must have been the shortest Friendship landing on a runway ever in New Zealand. It then went off the runway and down the slope to Arapuni? Road. If that wasn't enough, the crew managed to turn the old girl around and attempted to regain the runway..................man on man, they were lucky. It was on 10/10/88 and the accident was published as an incident 88-438. I have it somewhere in the loft and I think it was published in the same format as an air accident report. It wasn't just the case of getting it wrong the first time, the crew just kept going and going.
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Post by kiwithrottlejockey on Feb 28, 2018 22:16:35 GMT 12
We got told about the incident by one of the air traffic controllers.
We had quite a bit to do with them due to us running trains across the runway.
But as I already posted, it was so long ago that the exact details were rather dim in my memory.
Although, I seem to vaguely recall being told the co-pilot was flying the aircraft.
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pvsjetstar
Flight Lieutenant
email: rassie6@optusnet.com.au
Posts: 97
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Post by pvsjetstar on Mar 10, 2018 15:42:38 GMT 12
Here what happened to ZK-BXG after the Gisborne incident: 10 Oct 88 Suffered accident while landing at Gisborne. Temporary repairs carried out at Gisborne. Flown back to Christchurch and withdrawn from service. Stored at Christchurch. Nov 93 Partially dismantled and taken by road to the Royal New Zealand Air Force Museum at Wigram, Christchurch. The aircraft was to have been restored to represent one of the 3 ex Air New Zealand F27s operated by the RNZAF from 1980-1992. The restoration was not carried out. 1993 Sold to Pionair, Christchurch Airport for use as an office. 23 Oct 03 Cancelled from the New Zealand Aircraft Register. May 05 Purchased by Peter and Larraine McQuarters for their Aeroview complex next to the Ashburton Airport, South Island, NZ. Transported by road from Wigram to Ashburton. Repainted into NAC’s original ‘737’ livery. Aug 11 The owners agreed to move the aircraft back to Christchurch, to be housed indoors at the Ferrymead Heritage Park, where the aircraft is being brought up to display condition by the members of the Ferrymead Aeronautical Society. The F27 will be displayed together with the ex NAC Vickers Viscount, ZK-BRF, and the cockpits of ex Air NZ Lockheed L188C Electra, ZK-TEA and ex SAFEAIR Bristol Freighter, ZK-CRK. Nov 11 Transported by road by BTR Limited from Ashburton to Christchurch and delivered to the Ferrymead Heritage Park.
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Post by denysjones on Mar 13, 2018 13:29:58 GMT 12
Agile et al :
The accident report for BXG goes like this. The service was running late and so the decision was made to use the direct approach runway, which required a steep approach over some high ground, rather than the circular approach as per the AirNZ manual. The No2 was driving and although both crew thought they were a little high decided to press on. No2 again voiced his concern about the approach to the No1 who told him to continue. When they were down to about 300ft the No1 took control and the assumed touchdown point was well down the strip past the intersection with the other runways and somewhere near the railway line (either before or after depending on witnesses).
BXG then exited the runway 03 end to the right of her heading and off into the rough. They turned her about and ran back up onto the strip where they shut down "due to a flat tyre" and the passengers etc alighted leaving the a/c there overnight pending engineering recovery. (There was apparently no suitable towbar at Gisborne). Both tyres on one side were found ground down to the rims giving the indication that one set of toe brakes were on and one not :-)
Pvsjetstar :
The line "The owners agreed to move the aircraft back to Christchurch" should read "The owners reluctantly decided to part with the aircraft and so sold it to Ferrymead Aeronautical Society as the best prospect for the majority of it being preserved".
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