Source: Radio New Zealand
Last month’s ram raid at Kaikohe Aerodrome inflicted huge damage on the local gliding club’s aircraft. RNZ/Peter de Graaf
A Far North man has been arrested after a ram raid at an aerodrome wrecked a flying club’s gliders and left members with a $250,000 repair bill.
A vehicle was used to smash into a hangar at Kaikohe Aerodrome, leaving the aircraft parked inside severely damaged.
Senior Sergeant Clem Armstrong, of Mid Far North police, said two vehicles and an $80,000 tractor mower were taken in the raid, which was reported on 27 March.
Adding insult to injury, about 100 litres of diesel and petrol were stolen, along with batteries from the club’s solar power system.
Armstrong said Kaikohe Aerodrome was built in 1942 as a United States Marine Corps bomber base.
He said it had the largest grass airstrip in the Southern Hemisphere, with the Kaikohe Gliding Club responsible for mowing and maintaining it.
“This is a volunteer group who rely entirely on goodwill. This has been a massive blow and has really hurt them.”
Armstrong said the club was “over the moon” to hear police had arrested someone.
The 28-year-old man had been charged in relation to the road and was due back the Kaikohe District Court on 21 April.
He faced 21 charges relating to a series of rural thefts in the Mangakahia and Awarua areas, south of Kaikohe.
Last month’s ram raid at Kaikohe Aerodrome inflicted huge damage on the local gliding club’s aircraft. RNZ/Peter de Graaf
The charges included burglary, theft of a motor vehicle, intentional damage, unlawfully taking a motor vehicle, receiving and theft.
In a social media post shortly after the raid, a Kaikohe Gliding Club spokesman said it was a huge blow that would be difficult to recover from.
He said the club, which was one of the cheapest and most accessible gliding clubs in New Zealand, would not be operating for the foreseeable future.
The club had always operated without insurance to keep membership costs low.
“Unfortunately, this has left us extremely vulnerable, and this loss is something we simply cannot absorb.”
Last month’s ram raid at Kaikohe Aerodrome inflicted huge damage on the local gliding club’s aircraft. RNZ/Peter de Graaf
Even if the club had the money, there was a shortage of certified gliding engineers in New Zealand, so repairs could take many months or even years.
He said the club was entirely volunteer-run and supported local youth, including by hosting cadets from Kaikohe to Kaitāia.
Meanwhile, Armstrong said police investigating the aerodrome raid had also located stolen industrial drill parts valued at $40,000.
The equipment, imported from the United States by a local company, was returned last week.
“It’s great to be able to recover these expensive and crucial pieces of equipment and return them to their rightful owners.”
Armstrong said the aerodrome investigation was ongoing with police looking for others who may have been involved.
The damage to each aircraft was expected to cost around $60,000 to repair. The vehicles had since been recovered.
Armstrong urged people to report thefts in rural areas, no matter how minor they seemed, saying it helped police build up a picture of what was happening in an area.
* Kaikohe Gliding Club has set up a Givealittle page to help pay for repairs.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
