 Gyro horizon from a B-24 Liberator | |
| 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 withUnited 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 |
The1943 Whenuapai Consolidated Liberator crash was an aircraft accident that occurred inNew Zealand on 2 August 1943 duringWorld War II. TheConsolidated C-87 Liberator Express was owned by theUSAAF and was crewed byUnited Air Lines.[1][2]
TheConsolidated C-87 Liberator Express aircraft was transferring Japanese men, women, and children of theConsular Corps, to exchange for AlliedPOWs.[3] On 2 August 1943, it took off fromWhenuapai Aerodrome runway 04 at 2:20 am, with rain and fog conditions at minimums for departure, and quickly passed through lowstratus. Captain Herschel Laughlin'sgyro 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).
The crash killed three of the five crew (United States nationals), and eleven of the twenty-five passengers (eight Japanese and three Thai nationals).[4] Two additional passengers died later from injuries.[3]TSS Wahine took the surviving internees from Wellington to Sydney three months later.[5][6][7]
TVNZ covered the crash during the programmeSecret New Zealand in 2003, and posited the accident was covered up, due to concerns of reprisals against POWs.[8]
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The aircraft crashed to the ground 1¼ miles NNE of Whenuapai airfield.[9]
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