Vandals cause $75K damage at Chatham Islands airport, 4 men charged

A night of reckless behavior by a group of young men led to massive disruption for the Chatham Islands community in February 2024. The Chatham Islands, located approximately 800 km east of New Zealand's South Island, rely heavily on the airport for connectivity.

The group broke into William Tuuta Memorial Airport, causing $75,000 worth of damage to a plane and runway lights after racing up and down the runway at speeds of 80 km/h.

The vandalism incident

The events unfolded after the group had been drinking at a house on the island. They attempted to enter the airport by inputting a code into the gate’s keypad. When that failed, they drove a Hilux ute through the gate, forcing it off the rails. They then drove up and down the runway, breaking several runway lights, and climbed onto an aircraft wing, filming and photographing themselves.

The plane’s wing was damaged when they tried to drive the ute underneath it, rendering it unable to fly.

The four accused

Four men admitted charges of endangering transport and trespass. Jacob Reihana Parkinson was sentenced to 300 hours of community work. Poliko Talaelei Tapu, who appeared by video link from Auckland, was sentenced to four months’ community detention, six months’ supervision, 150 hours of community work, and ordered to pay $4,167 in reparation.

Te Hinota Kururangi, who had visited the Air Chathams office the day after the incident to apologize, was sentenced to 280 hours of community work and also paid his share of the reparation.

Trade suffered

The vandalism had far-reaching consequences for the remote island community. The damage interrupted the arrival of groceries and halted the export of valuable seafood, including crayfish, pāua, and kina, resulting in divers losing work.

Delay of the evacuation service

The incident also posed a potential threat to the island’s medical evacuation service. “Had there been a medical emergency, thankfully there wasn’t, it would have been a pretty awful thing to discover that the plane wasn’t operable,” Judge Bill Hastings noted during sentencing.

Response from the Chatham airport authorities

The incident prompted a comprehensive security review at Tuuta Airport.

Airport manager Darron Kyle emphasized the importance of vigilance, stating that the airport is a lifeline for the community, providing essential services such as medical evacuations and the transport of goods.

He noted that while security breaches are rare, the incident was a stark reminder of the potential impact of such disruptive actions.