Footage and Photos of crashed NAC DC-3 on hillside (Merged )

[11SQNLDR]

here's a few

[FlyingKiwi]

Wow, that's amazing. I didn't realise so much of it was left there! In the original photos and video of the accident site from when it crashed it looked like the terrain was pretty open, so presumably that forest has grown up since then?

[Dave Homewood]

Wow, amazing to see these shots. Thanks for posting axelford, and reposting Stu!

[johnnyfalcon]

Ditto to the above! I imagined a landscape devoid of vegetation as per the monochrome pictures and video immediately after the crash. Just been left as a silent cenotaph

[axelford]

11SQNLDR thanks for posting some of the photos, would a tutorial topic be possible?

FlyingKiwi yes the forest has grown since the crash, in fact the gully is the only area on that side with native forest up that far so it seems the forestry people have left it alone on purpose.
Also on flickr I have some descriptions for the photos.

[davidd]

As I visited this site about 35 years ago, seem to recall that much of the wreckage by then had been deliberately moved from the hilltop crash location and pushed downhill and into the gullies below. This would explain why the original crash photos and the recent ones have such different backgrounds. When I saw it, the original red markings (with black outlining) were in near perfect condition, very bright, I was amazed at this. Apparently people in light aircraft who inadvertently flew over the wreck when it was still on top of the hill believed the crash must have been a recent one, and advised the authorities, only to be informed that it had been there for years. I think the authorities got sick of receiving these reports and decided to put an end to it - seems the strategy has worked!
David D

[Sarge]

I visited the site in 1974 with the Contingency Force from Woodbourne and I was struck by the fact that the cargo of shoes was virtually all there and in place. At that time it was still on Scraggy Ridge and on open ground.

[Dave Homewood]

Is this the one that was a topdresser that crashed after flying from Woodbourne?

[starr]

Dave, that one was AOI.

[Bruce]

Jan 12, 2021 12:11:32 GMT 12 Dave Homewood said:

Is this the one that was a topdresser that crashed after flying from Woodbourne?

AOE was an NAC freighter which crashed on the headland above Port Underwood (eastern Marlborough Sounds) in low cloud on a flight Blenheim to Paraparaumu in August 1948.

[Dave Homewood]

Oh right. Thanks.

[Bruce]

here is a period newsreel showing the crash site. It is apparent that the wreckage has been moved when you compare the current pictures to the newsreel. the fuselage has been rolled over, and moved relative to the wings.

[curtiss]

The missing engine was recovered by The Silverstream aircraft group (now disbanded) and installed on ZK BYF which is now at Gisborne.

[FlyingKiwi]

At the risk of a bit of thread drift, it makes me wonder if there are other not very well known aircraft wrecks out there? (not including the few undiscovered crash sites of missing aircraft of course)

[planewriting]

Perhaps rnzaf.proboards.com/thread/29020/47-aoe-crash-site-photos?page=1&scrollTo=292569 and rnzaf.proboards.com/thread/26529/footage-crashed-nac-dc-hillside should be merged as they are both covering the same accident and there are answers to questions spread between them both.

[Dave Homewood]

Yes I agree Peter, I have merged the two threads together and put it into the NZ Civil Aviation board.

[newzild2]

Hi team.

My grandfather was the pilot of this plane (Murdo MacLeod), and I've created an account for this website purely because of this thread.

I'm keen to visit the crash site at some time in the next couple of years. There is some information in this thread about how to access the site, but I would appreciate some help with the exact location (GPS marker?), who to approach for access, etc.

Is anyone in a position to help with this?

Kind regards,
Scott

[axelford]

Hi Scott, I visited the crash site this day last year, the coordinates are available on topo maps as the wreck is marked there and a co-ord pin can be dropped. However it is marked incorrectly and the wreck is actually a bit more east.

I would note that it was hard to get access as there is logging activity, the land was sold to a certain Ian Cassels and we hit a brick wall with trying to get access through him and his company. We instead contacted the Port Underwood association and they forwarded us to the owners of a bach at Jerdans Bay who used to own the land, they showed us a route up the hillside which then connects to the logging road, due to it being the 31st there was no vehicle activity and thus no hazard. It had been freshly logged when we went so it was clear where the wreck lay as they don't cut the tress in it's gully and it lines up with Walker Rock.

The pieces at that spot are the tail and Port wing which have been pushed off the ridge. The remaining engine and cabin area (And Starboard wing?) are more towards Fighting Bay but there is young Pine trees planted which would make it hard to reach. I do not know the co-ords for that area but Whitebus family productions visited that area several years ago and may have co-ords but they never responded to my emails at the time. I hope our information is helpful to you in visiting such an impactful site to your family.

[newzild2]

Great info - thanks mate.

Scott