Post by Dave Homewood on Sept 27, 2023 0:18:43 GMT 12
I had not heard about this accident till just now. Very sad indeed. It strikes me as unusual to have had a female captain on an airliner back then, and especially a Kiwi. She must have been a trailblazer, so sad she was killed. The accident caused by an errant pin.
From The Press, 29 December 1986.
N.Z. pilot in Fiji crash
Special correspondent Suva
A New Zealand air accident investigator began an inquiry yesterday into Fiji’s worst air crash in which 11 people died on Saturday. Among the dead was the only New Zealander on board, Mrs Andrea Drew, who was flying the four-engined Sunflower Airlines Heron aircraft. It is still unclear whether Mrs Drew or the co-pilot was actually landing the plane. Mrs Drew was found alive in the wreckage of the aircraft but died as she was being taken to hospital.
The aircraft came down missing a row of houses outside the boundary of Nandi airport as it was making its final approach to land. Eyewitnesses said it dropped sharply to the right before striking a grassy area which was scattered with bodies and wreckage after the crash. There was no explosion or fire.
The Heron was on a 250 km flight to Nandi from Savusavu on the island of Vanua Levu carrying 12 passengers, mostly American tourists, and a crew of two.
The survivors included two Americans and a girl, Vinita Swamy, aged two, whose mother, Mrs Sunita Swamy, aged 26, and sister, Simita, aged five months, died in the crash. The Australian co-pilot, Mr John Dorney, was also a victim.
The New Zealand air accident investigator, Mr Milton Wylie, arrived in Fiji on Saturday night to conduct an official inquiry into the crash at the request of the Fiji Government.
Mrs Drew, aged 29, whose family lives at Te Poi, near Matamata, flew scenic flights for Float Plane Air Services and Geyserland Airways in Rotorua for several years up to about 18 months ago. She held a senior commercial pilot’s licence and was the first woman in New Zealand to fly float planes. Her husband, Mr Colin Drew, is a pilot with another Fijian airline, Turtle Airways.
Saturday’s crash was the second in Fiji this year. In September a woman died when a Fiji Air Heron crashed on take-off from Vanuabalavu Island.
From The Press, 29 December 1986.
N.Z. pilot in Fiji crash
Special correspondent Suva
A New Zealand air accident investigator began an inquiry yesterday into Fiji’s worst air crash in which 11 people died on Saturday. Among the dead was the only New Zealander on board, Mrs Andrea Drew, who was flying the four-engined Sunflower Airlines Heron aircraft. It is still unclear whether Mrs Drew or the co-pilot was actually landing the plane. Mrs Drew was found alive in the wreckage of the aircraft but died as she was being taken to hospital.
The aircraft came down missing a row of houses outside the boundary of Nandi airport as it was making its final approach to land. Eyewitnesses said it dropped sharply to the right before striking a grassy area which was scattered with bodies and wreckage after the crash. There was no explosion or fire.
The Heron was on a 250 km flight to Nandi from Savusavu on the island of Vanua Levu carrying 12 passengers, mostly American tourists, and a crew of two.
The survivors included two Americans and a girl, Vinita Swamy, aged two, whose mother, Mrs Sunita Swamy, aged 26, and sister, Simita, aged five months, died in the crash. The Australian co-pilot, Mr John Dorney, was also a victim.
The New Zealand air accident investigator, Mr Milton Wylie, arrived in Fiji on Saturday night to conduct an official inquiry into the crash at the request of the Fiji Government.
Mrs Drew, aged 29, whose family lives at Te Poi, near Matamata, flew scenic flights for Float Plane Air Services and Geyserland Airways in Rotorua for several years up to about 18 months ago. She held a senior commercial pilot’s licence and was the first woman in New Zealand to fly float planes. Her husband, Mr Colin Drew, is a pilot with another Fijian airline, Turtle Airways.
Saturday’s crash was the second in Fiji this year. In September a woman died when a Fiji Air Heron crashed on take-off from Vanuabalavu Island.
