Errol Clince, Date of Birth, Date of Death
TweetErrol Clince
Date of Birth: 16-Feb-1953
Date of Death: 08-Sep-2014
Profession: engineer
Nationality: New Zealand
Zodiac Sign: Aquarius 
About Errol Clince
- Errol Clince (16 February 1953 – 8 September 2014) was a New Zealand professional hunter and self-taught engineer.
- He is most well known for his discovery of the wreckage of a Royal New Zealand Air Force Airspeed Oxford, ending a 32-year New Zealand aviation mystery.Clince was born in 1953 in Eltham, Taranaki.
- A keen hunter from an early age, Clince left Stratford High School at 18 years and took up a job with the New Zealand Forest Service as a varmint exterminator.
- He was tasked hunting goats on Mt.
- Taranaki (then Mt.
- Egmont) and surrounding National Park.
- He also had a stint as an exterminator on Raoul Island.
- He has been credited with over 5000 confirmed kills over his 16 year career as a professional hunter.
- An expert on both the local geography and varmint, Clince assisted with various technical reports and academic studies relating to the area.
- Following his work with the NZ Forest Service, Clince worked as a caretaker for the Stratford Mountain House on the eastern slopes of Mt Taranaki. Clince is most well-known for the discovery of an RNZAF Airspeed Oxford twin engine bomber-training aircraft wreckage on the slopes of Mt Taranaki.
- The aircraft, an Oxford I, NZ277/P2030 with Pilot Officer Rodney Dandy and crew Sgt Douglas Martyn, Sgt Graham Martin and Sgt Edward Dodson, departed Bell Block Airfield, New Plymouth on 23 October 1942 on a training mission.
- It is assumed that due to heavy cloud, the crew made navigational errors which resulted in a crash at 4,000 feet.
- No crew members survived.
- The RNZAF and local authorities discontinued searches for the aircraft after three months.
- 32 years later on 15 January 1974 Clince discovered the crash site.
- Assuming it was already documented, Clince messed around with the wreckage including tampering with the controls and .303 machine gun.
- He was alerted to the presence of human remains by his dog who had recovered a bone.
- He then made a hasty retreat down the mountain to inform the Police.
- He returned shortly after with a party of Police, NZRAF and media.
- His diary noted:Hunted Mangorei Stream, got 10 goats.
- Got a ride in a Cortina 2000 Automatic.
- Found old bomber below Mangorei Hut somewhere.
- There were a lot of 303 bullet shells, a machinegun and an old parachute still not undone ...
- I also found the leg bone of a human then I buggered off from there fast.Errol was also well-known locally for his engineering projects.
- He forged numerous black-powder cannons, which were often wheeled out at local events, and for building two gyro-copters in which he clocked over 300 flying-hours over Taranaki and Manawatu-Wanganui Regions.Clince died peacefully on 8 September 2014 after a short battle with cancer.
Read more at Wikipedia