With its elevators removed, this photo appears to show the aircraft after it was withdrawn from use in May 1965. The Pan Am DC-7C in the background shows international airline flights were still using Whenuapai. They were moved to the new international airport (NZAA) in November 1965 allowing the DC-7Cs to be replaced by 707s. The other aircraft in the background in an RNZAF DC-6. NZ5802 was flown to Ohakea in February 1966 and scrapped.
This photo was added on 15 October 2020, and has since been viewed 396 times.