Cessna 172 ZK-CSS

This site is dedicated to all those families of the people that have tragically disappeared on flights in and around New Zealand. I only hope that from all the effort in building this site and from all the effort of those taking part in this venture, that it will bear fruit in bringing ‘closure’ to their memories!
Gavin Grimmer

Email: gavin@findlostaircraft.co.nz

The Turner family were on a flight from Tekapo to Fox Glacier but never arrived.
The aircraft left Tekapo at 12.44 and was last seen heading toward Mt Cook.
Arthur Turner made contact with Flight Service in Hokitika at 1.09 and again at 1.16
and both these calls were also heard by the Timaru Flight Service. Nothing was ever heard
from the Turners again.

Missing: Arthur Roy Turner - age 55
               Ann Zelda Turner - age 33
               Kim Dorothy Turner - age 6
               Guy Turner - age 4

30 July 1983

Cessna 172 ZK-CSS

As at 16th May 2010, I have information that ZK-CSS may well have flown a course from Tekapo, up the Godley River, over the Sealy Pass, Scone Creek, Perth River, Whataroa River, Gunn River, Darnley Creek, just north of Lake Mapourika, and then out towards the coast in the area of Three Mile Beach.

An aeroplane was heard at the time coming out of the Perth River and headed up the Whataroa above cloud. It was next heard again above cloud north of Lake Mapourika and was last heard at Okarito where a crash noise was heard soon after. The crash noise was heard in the direction of Three Mile Beach.

Using this scenario, and by using a ground speed of 105 knots, it calculates out precisely for Roy Turner’s position to be such as to be able to have VHF radio contact with Hokitika 25 minutes into the flight and then loose this contact due to the signal being obscured by Mt.Adams (as Hokitika received no acknowledgement after giving a weather report).

The final radio call at 32 minutes into the flight (where he asked for the weather at Hokitika and Fox Glacier - but none was available for Fox Glacier) would put him precisely just north of Lake Mapourika where the observer heard an aeroplane above cloud flying back and forth (trying to make up his mind which way to go, or circling up [or down] through a hole in the cloud?).

From that position, it is thought that he may have flown out to the coast to attempt to descend through the cloud, and when he entered cloud, he became disoriented, lost control, and crashed into the forest.

It was reported, that at the time, there was an unusual event of a front coming through under the higher layer of cloud and this may have caught him unawares.

Although much of the forest was searched at the time, there was a lot not searched.

Page 1 of 15