Historic engine taken to museum

Parts of a historic plane wreck taken from its crash site in the Tararua Range have been found at an aviation museum in Masterton.

The removed wreckage was tracked down by Conservation Department staff after The Dominion Post reported last week that parts of the plane's remains had been taken and other sections moved into clearings for easier removal.

The guardians of the museum and those behind the removal operation say the intention was to preserve the plane's history and tell its story.

The RNZAF Devon's engine, which was airlifted out from where it crashed on Shingle Slip Knob on February 17, 1955, was taken to the NZ Sport and Vintage Aviation Society's hangars at Masterton's Hood Aerodrome. The society's plan was to display the engine at the George Hood Museum when it is completed in a year.

The wreckage rests just 100 metres from the graves of the two young pilots who died in the crash.

It is owned by the Crown under the protection of the Conservation Department, which manages Tararua Forest Park. Any removal without consent is an offence.

Society president Tom Williams said there was never any intention to desecrate a memorial and the society was not aware it needed formal consent to uplift parts of the wreckage for display.

"The wreckage has suffered from the ravages of the weather over the last 54 years and has started to come apart. It had already been pretty thoroughly picked over.

"All we ever wanted to do was to recognise the region's aviation heritage and tell the story of the plane and the two pilots who died in a visible way in our museum for generations to see."

DOC Wairarapa area manager Chris Lester said though he was satisfied the engine's removal was purely for the museum, ignorance of the law was no excuse.

"I don't think that there is any doubt that an offence under the Conservation Act has been committed. They may have pleaded ignorance to the legal issues but that is not justification in my mind. My initial view is that is not a defence."

What happens next is up to DOC lawyers and the pilots' families. No decision had been made on whether to lay charges, Mr Lester said.

"I have left it with the families to decide what their preference is. The department's response will be dependent on what those families want."

Options could include returning the parts to the crash site.

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