Date & Time:
Mar 21, 1945 at 1030 LT
Type of aircraft:
Lockheed PV-1 Ventura
Operator:
Registration:
NZ4518
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Training
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Whenuapai - Whenuapai
Country:
New Zealand
Region:
Oceania
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
1
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
0
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
1
Circumstances:
The crew was performing a training mission out of Whenuapai AFB when the twin engine aircraft collided with a RNZAF C-47 registered NZ3501 over Kaukapakapa. The crew of the C-47 was able to return to Whenuapai AFB with minor damages and landed safely. The captain of the Ventura ordered his crew to bail out and attempted to make an emergency landing when the aircraft crashed in a field in Kaukapakapa. The pilot F/Lt William Farnsworth was killed while his crew was unhurt.
