Palmerston North – Hamilton

On October 23, 1948 at 02:15 PM, Palmerston North – Hamilton experienced a crash involving Lockheed 10 Electra, operated by New Zealand National Airways, with the event recorded near Mt Ruapehu Manawatu-Wanganui (Horizons Regional Council).

The flight was categorized as scheduled revenue flight and the reported phase was flight at a mountains crash site.

13 people were known to be on board, 13 fatalities were recorded, 0 survivors were identified or estimated. This corresponds to an estimated fatality rate of 100.0%.

Crew on board: 3, crew fatalities: 3, passengers on board: 10, passenger fatalities: 10, other fatalities: 0.

The listed crash cause is weather. En route, the crew encountered marginal weather conditions with strong winds and rain showers. In low visibility, the aircraft christened 'Kaka' hit the slope of Mt Ruapehu and disintegrated on impact, killing all 13 occupants. The aircraft was off course at the time of the accident.

Aircraft reference details include registration ZK-AGK, MSN 1128.