Date:	Thursday 20 November 1941
Time:	10:45 LT
Type:	Airspeed Oxford Mk II
Owner/operator:	3 SFTS RNZAF
Registration:	NZ1245
MSN:	2670
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Maunganui, Tararua Range -   New Zealand
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Training
Departure airport:	Ohakea AFB
Destination airport:

Narrative:
Airspeed AS-10 Oxford Mk.II P6876. Built by de Havilland Ltd, Hatfield, England. Arrived in New Zealand on board the s.s "OPAWA" in September 1940. Brought On Chage at RNZAF Hobsonville on 11 September 1940. Assigned RNZAF Serial NZ1245. Issued to No.3 SFTS, Ohakea.

Written off (destroyed) 20 November 1941: The crew was performing a training mission with 3 SFTS and left Ohakea AFB at 10:45 LT. While cruising in low visibility due to poor weather conditions, the twin engine aircraft hit a mountain slope located between Upper Hutt and Waikanae, northeast of Wellington. The aircraft failed to return by the scheduled time of 14.30 hours that day, and an extensive search was mounted, but it failed to find any trace of the Oxford and its occupants. On the 26th of November it was announced that Baker's father, Mr. W.P. Baker of Russell, was offering a £200 reward for any information that might lead to the discovery of the aeroplane, as he felt the pair may still be alive. He hoped the reward might stimulate local residents to go searching for the aircraft. Two days later on the 28th of November, the reward offer was increased to £500. But still the aircraft wasn't found

Finally in April 1943 the remains of the aircraft were discovered in hill country near Maunganui Peak, near the Akatarawa Valley, part of the Tararua Ranges. It seems the aircraft had become lost in bad weather and had hit trees that had made the aircraft uncontrollable, and it had continued on and hit further trees, flipping upside-down and crashing onto the hill. The bodies of both pilots were recovered on the 14th of April 1943.

Crew of Oxford NZ1245:
L/AC Charles William Baker,
L/AC Winston Stanley Cannel.

Cause: The Court concluded its inquiry with the following findings...
1) From the evidence available, the Court can only assume that the loss of Oxford NZ1245 is attributable mainly to the bad weather conditions prevailing in part of the route to be flown.
2) The Court is of the opinion that the aircraft and equipment was in serviceable condition prior to the exercise.
3) The weather conditions immediately prior to setting out on the exercise were such that the Flight Commander was justified in authorizing the flight.

1. http://www.parawaitc.org.nz/Other/Oxford1245.pdf
2. [LINK NOT WORKING ANYMORE:http://www.baaa-acro.com/1941/archives/crash-of-an-airspeed-as-10-oxford-in-new-zealand-2-killed-4/]
3. http://www.adf-gallery.com.au/.au/nz-serials/nzoxford.htm
4. http://www.thelockedjournal.com/index_htm_files/Cannell%20Winston%20Stanley%20Oxford1245.pdf
5. http://web.archive.org/web/20170923044016/http://www.warbirdsite.com:80/missing.html
6. http://rnzaf.proboards.com/post/211751
7. http://www.cambridgeairforce.org.nz/Winston_Cannell.html
8. Ross Kerr (2006) A Chronology of the Tararua & Rimutaka Ranges

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
05-Jun-2009 19:00	angels one five	Added
17-Sep-2009 12:15	angels one five	Updated
09-Jan-2012 01:30	angels one five	Updated [Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Operator, Location, Departure airport, Source, Narrative]
23-Jan-2012 02:42	angels one five	Updated [Operator]
23-Jan-2014 22:05	angels one five	Updated [Aircraft type, Narrative]
08-Aug-2017 17:49	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Time, Operator, Location, Source, Narrative]
16-May-2018 19:52	Ron Averes	Updated [Operator, Location, Source, Narrative]
13-Sep-2020 22:16	Ron Averes	Updated [Operator]
23-Jan-2022 03:07	Ron Averes	Updated [Aircraft type]