In 1988, a Sunflower Airlines plane crashed into a hill outside Navua.
According to an article published by The Fiji Times on April 4 of that year, pilot Brian Jee survived the crash with injuries after flying the plane over Consolidated Agriculture Ltd’s rice farms, eight kilometres from Navua.
The company’s Fletcher FU-24 crop-sprayer went out of control and slid about 20 metres after clipping the top of the hill.
The Fiji Times reported that farmers in the area dragged Mr Jee from the cockpit and police rushed him to Navua Hospital.
Mr Jee was treated for face cuts and injuries to his left ankle before he was sent to the Colonial War Memorial Hospital for further treatment.
The chief pilot of Sunflower Airlines, David Sapwell, said the company was not able to determine the cause of the accident after inspecting the plane, and that no further action was decided.
According to the article, the crop sprayer’s single engine was torn out of its casing and the propeller was found lying under the fuselage.
Both wheels fell off while pipes and controls from the cockpit to the engine were ripped out.
Officials from the Civil Aviation Authority of Fiji also inspected the plane to determine the cause of the crash.
The single seater monoplane was impounded by the CAAF for further investigations.
The plane was bought by Sunflower Airlines in December 1986.
It was made in Hamilton, New Zealand, and was designed for agricultural and health work.
