Memories of ZK-CCX and ZK-AYP.

  Of memories, newspaper reports and colour slides of old.
 

Paul S has mailed me with details and photographs of an event from his youth.

The 25th October 1962 was my fathers 40th birthday - I was five and my older brother Ross was six. Our birth dates were also in October - the 21st and 20th respectively.

 As a birthday treat for my father we three went for a joy ride over the Marlborough Sounds on the 28th of October 1962 in an aircraft flown by Tom Furse.

The Wanganui Chronicle recalled the incident when they interviewed my parents on Saturday December the 16th 2006.

"For his 40th birthday treat he and two younger sons, Ross and Paul, aged six and five, were in a Cessna (sic) over Marlborough Sounds' Lochmara Bay, when the prop fell off. Pilot, Tom Furse, crashed landed on the mud flats. The plane turned upside down.
"If it hadn't been for the pilot's skill we would all have been killed, but none of us were hurt." Mr Satherley said...
After getting out of the plane and helping the pilot to do so, Mr Satherley went back inside and freed the children, who were in restraining harnesses".

I have only just digitized my parents old coloured slides and came across several showing us standing with the Tom Furse and the Cessna 185 ZK-CCX.

Pic below shows the Cessna 185 ZK-CCX with Tom Furse on the left of the family group.

It appears to be on the old Picton strip.

Paul recalls the flight:- "The prop sheared off and we crash landed on the beach in the Sounds. We landed after gliding several times round the Bay, the tide was out and when we hit the beach the plane flipped onto its back and we were left hanging in seat belts. I have vivid memories of the green pines as the prop clunked through the right wing, and the quietness as we glided over the deep blue bay - and the sudden stop. The pilot Tom Furse got a bang on the head from a window winding thingi but saved us with quick thinking and a bit of luck."

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In fact on the 28th of October 1962 pilot Tom Furse was flying

three passengers in his Auster J1B ZK-AYP when it lost its prop in flight due to crankshaft failure over Lochmara Bay, Queen Charlotte Sound. It overturned on landing and was covered by the incoming tide.

Tom hired the near new Cessna 185 ZK-CCX after this incident and used it until it went to Southern Scenic Air Services at Queenstown in April 1965.

The Auster was retrieved and a rebuild was contemplated to the extent that it was re-registered as ZK-CHA to Sounds Scenic Flights Ltd on 01-07-1966. However the rebuild was not completed and the registration was cancelled on 18-10-1971 as being parted out for spares. I believe some of which went to ZK-BMD.

I believe Tom went on to fly for Air New Zealand.

 

Below is a photo of ZK-AYP from the Ed Coates collection.