| Occurrence Type: | Accident |
| Air New Zealand Flight 4374 | |
| Date: | 17 February 1979 |
| Type: | Controlled flight into terrain |
| Site: | Manukau Harbour |
| Passengers: | 2 |
| Crew: | 2 |
| Fatalities: | 2 |
| Injuries: | 2 |
| Survivors: | 2 |
| Aircraft Type: | Fokker F-27 Friendship |
| Tail Number: | ZK-NFC |
| Origin: | Gisborne Airport |
| Destination: | Auckland International Airport |
| Operator: | Air New Zealand |
Air New Zealand Flight 4374 was a flight from Gisborne which crashed while landing at Auckland, killing two of the four on board.
The Fokker Friendship F27-500 was eight years old at the time of the crash. Until 1977 the aircraft had been operated by the New Zealand National Airways Corporation (NAC) as the result of merger.
At 14:28 the aircraft had descended to 3000 feet and the pilots deployed the flaps. The aircraft's speed was 165 knots, and increased to 211 knots; 2 minutes 14 seconds later the aircraft crashed into the harbour killing two, the captain and a passenger.
The investigation found that the crew were likely misled by a visual illusion due to a rain shower obscuring the runway threshold during their base turn. This, coupled with a failure to monitor their flight instruments effectively, resulted in a controlled flight into terrain.[1]