The 1943 Liberator crash at Whenuapai was an aircraft accident that occurred in New Zealand on 2 August 1943 during World War II.

[1][2] The Consolidated C-87 Liberator Express aircraft was transferring Japanese men, women, and children of the Consular Corps, to exchange for Allied POWs.

[3] On 2 August 1943, it took off from Whenuapai Aerodrome runway 04 at 2:20 am, with rain and fog conditions at minimums for departure, and quickly passed through low stratus.

[3] The crew detected the problem in a few seconds, but as the aircraft was straightening up and levelling out, it hit the ground at about 322 km/h (200 mph), bounced a few times and exploded.

The major factors of the accident were the lack of a pre-flight checklist, and crew fatigue (126 flying hours in the last 26 days).