Re: News article ‘Flight 441 finally makes it home' The Weekend Sun, June 23.

Classic Flyers' 'salvage” of wreckage from the 1963 DC-3 crash on the Kaimais is a classic case of not leaving well enough alone, and raises ethical issues.

The crash site itself is a memorial to those who died and deserves to be respected, particularly since there is no guarantee that the Classic Flyers Museum and its 'memorial” will still exist in another 60 years. I am surprised, if it was involved, that the Department of Conservation allowed this to happen. The episode recalls the collecting by enthusiasts, over many years, of machinery and other remains from Coromandel mine sites, only to have them rust away in someone's backyard and end up as scrap metal, rather than being left where they originally were as an authentic reminder of the past.

John Coster, Kaimai.

Classic Flyers CEO Andrew Gormlie responds: The Bay of Plenty Classic Aircraft Trust understands public views may vary on this subject.

Respect for all and anyone affected by the event – 60 years ago and currently – is paramount as preservers of local NZ Aviation History.

Therefore we have ensured that a vast majority of the community who may have been connected in any way, have been contacted and their approval and any views sought over the past 18 months.

This of course includes the landowners and the owners of the wreckage. The response has been overwhelmingly supportive. In fact many have offered donations to assist with the project. Our intention is to create a small memorial, by way of a piece of tangible evidence – the right hand engine – in a 'quiet space” for those who might wish to be near and reflect on the event 60 years ago.

Specifically, those who might have been directly affected.

Experiencing the positive effort that a large amount of people have gone to in this instance, we feel it is more respectful than just leaving it to rust at the site, inaccessible to those who might wish to understand the event and its earlier impact on our community.

This seems 'correct” to us as preservationists.