.jpg) The wreckage of the plane after crashing | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | 2 August 1943 (1943-08-02) |
| Summary | Controlled flight into terrain |
| Site | |
 | |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Consolidated C-87 Liberator Express |
| Operator | United Air Lines under contract with United States Army Air Force |
| Registration | 41-24027 |
| Flight origin | Whenuapai Aerodrome, Whenuapai, New Zealand |
| Destination | RAAF Base Amberley, Queensland, Australia |
| Occupants | 30 |
| Passengers | 25 |
| Crew | 5 |
| Fatalities | 16 |
| Survivors | 14 |
The 1943 Whenuapai Consolidated Liberator crash was an aircraft accident that occurred in New Zealand on 2 August 1943 during World War II. The Consolidated C-87 Liberator Express was owned by the USAAF and was crewed by United Air Lines.[1][2]
Accident
The Consolidated C-87 Liberator Express aircraft was transferring Japanese men, women, and children of the Consular Corps, to exchange for Allied POWs.[3] On 2 August 1943, it took off from Whenuapai Aerodrome runway 04 at 2:20 am, with rain and fog conditions at minimums for departure, and quickly passed through low stratus. Captain Herschel Laughlin's gyro horizon had inadvertently been left caged – while the instrument displayed level flight, the aircraft entered a steepening bank to the left.[3] The crew detected the problem in a few seconds, but as the aircraft was straightening up and levelling out, it hit the ground at about 322 km/h (200 mph), bounced a few times and exploded. The third bounce threw its first officer, R. John Wisda, out through the canopy; he rolled end over end about 100 metres (330 ft) through mud and reeds.[3] A medic later found him trying to keep warm near a burning tyre. R. John Wisda survived the crash. The major factors of the accident were the lack of a pre-flight checklist, and crew fatigue (126 flying hours in the last 26 days).
Aftermath
TVNZ covered the crash during the programme Secret New Zealand in 2003, and posited the accident was covered up, due to concerns of reprisals against POWs.[4]
References
- "Airbus crash not on list of casualties". New Zealand Herald. 28 November 2008. Retrieved 20 April 2009.
- "August 1943 USAAF Overseas Accident Reports". Aviation Archaeological Investigation and Research. Archived from the original on 3 May 2009. Retrieved 20 April 2009.
- Livingstone, Bob (1998). Under the Southern Cross: The B-24 Liberator in the South Pacific. Turner. p. 115. ISBN 1-56311-432-1. Retrieved 20 April 2009.
- Roscoe, Bruce (2007). Windows on Japan. Algora. p. 262. ISBN 978-0-87586-491-4. Retrieved 20 April 2009.