What happened
On the evening of October 3, 2003, a Convair 580, registration ZK-KFU, was operating a scheduled night cargo service from Christchurch to Palmerston North. After completing pre-flight preparations and engine starts at Christchurch Aerodrome, the aircraft departed runway 20 at 20:32. The flight, operating as Air Freight 642, initially followed a standard route via the Cape Campbell NDB before requesting a direct heading to the Paraparaumu NDB to reduce flight time.
During the descent phase, the crew transitioned from Wellington Control to Ohakea Control. At 21:25, the controller instructed the aircraft to descend to 7,000 feet and provided specific vectors for the approach. While the co-pilot acknowledged the initial descent instructions, the crew failed to respond to a subsequent transmission regarding the local pressure setting. Shortly after this period of silence, the aircraft's radar signature was observed turning left and subsequently vanishing from the controller's screen.
Following the disappearance, debris from the aircraft was discovered washed up on Paraparaumu Beach within an hour. Subsequent aerial and maritime searches located additional wreckage offshore. An underwater investigation eventually located the wreckage of ZK-KFU approximately 4 km from Peka Peka Beach. The search concluded with the recovery of the bodies of the 2 crew members later in the month.
Findings
- The aircraft disappeared from radar shortly after receiving descent and vectoring instructions.
- The crew failed to acknowledge the final communication from the Ohakea controller regarding the QNH.