AIR SMASH.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIII, Issue 225, 22 September 1932, Page 8

AIR SMASH.

'PLANE IN FLAMES. WRECKED BY STRIKING HOUSE TWO , YOUNG , MEN INJURED. ONE IN CRITICAL CONDITION. i (By Telegraph.—.Press Association.) WELLINGTON, this clay. A Moth 'plane belonging to the Wellington Aero Club, when returning from the Levin Aero Club's pageant about i eight o'clock this morning, crashed into a ; house in Ballance Street, Johusonville, and burst into flames. The corner of , the house caught fire. The 'plane was occupied by A. L. de Tourettes and L. F. P. Taylor, both young men and members of the Wellington Aero Club. De Tourettes, apart from shock and burns on the face, suffered little injury, but Taylor was extensively, burned, almost, all over the body. He lies in the Bowen Street Hospital in a serious condition. De Tourettes was able to be taken home. '"I -.""•' Attempt to Land Fails. An eye-witness' stated that engine trouble had. developed and that an attempt was being made to land either on the recreation ground or on the school playing ground nearby, and that the pilot .was waving for the ground to be cleared, but could not obtain a clear landing. ■ ■ . . The house into which the machine crashed is • occupied by* Mr. V.- A. Mills.. The fire was suppressed by the Johusonville Volunteer Brigade and no one in the house was injured. The aeroplane was completely destroyed by the blaze and the engine was left embedded on the verandah of the house. , An. eye-witness said the machine came from the north-east, flying-low: at a comparatively slow speed. .It passed over, his house and then circled, coming over his -house again in a steep left-hand bank; time the right wing brushed some tall cabbage trees in his garden. ~ Power Wires Broken. The machine continued and was turn- . ing again, the pilot apparently as a last ; resort endeavouring to land in the road. The right wing struck a power pole and cut the wires down. This slewed the machine round and it made straight over Mr. Mills' house, although the : striking of the power wires must have retarded its speed. The impact with the ; house* was very severe, the machine , crashing through the wall of the office '. on the verandah into a bedrooni, and throwing a heavy wardrobe on to a bed. i This room was the bedroom of Mr. Mills, ' sch.j who is nearly 90' years of age. For- il tunately, he was not in the room at the time. i

It appears that dc TqUrettes, prior to the engine trouble, was flying the machine'fronf the back seat. When the trouble arose, -Taylor, who is the more experienced pilot, took over the controls in the front. ..,;.■

Family at Breakfast. At the time of the' crash the Mills family were having breakfast in a'room at" the back of the house. Those in the house were Mr. and Mrs. A. Mills, sen., their two sons, V. A. Mills and A. Mills; and Miss, Adams, an elderly lady, sister of Mrs. Mills* sen. Miss Adams saw the aeroplane coming over the power lines through the back window, and a second or two afterwards the machine crashed into the front of the house with a terrific impact, and soon both the 'plane and the corner of the house were in flames. "The house shook, and, thinking it was an earthquake, I grabbed hold of my mother," said Mr. V. A. Mills. No one in:.the house was injured, although Mr. Mills, sen., suffered from shock. The volunteer fire brigade made a good save, and Mr. V. A. Mills, talking to the "Evening' Post's" representative, expressed keen appreciation of the brigade's prompt action. Street in a Valley. The approach of the aeroplane attracted the attention of a number of residents in and near Ballance Street, which is in the trough of a valley a little to the west of the railway line. Prom all accounts the reason the machine attracted so much attention is the

fact that it was flying particularly low. It appears that, when the engine gave trouble, of which there seems to be no doubt, Taylor either tried to land in the recreation ground to the south of Ballance Street or on the schoolgfound at the northern end of Ballance Street, but, judging from the description given to the manoeuvres of the machine, it would appear more likely that he was making for the schoolground. There were children playing there, and if Taylor was seeking to land there, he is deserving of much commendation in endeavouring, as it is presumed he did, to alight in the roadway. In support of this presumption there is the statement of a resident that he saw one of the men in the machine/waving frantically to the children.

Both Taylor and De Tourettes are well known in Wellington and also in Dominion aviation circles. Taylor is an experienced pilot.

, Both Taylor and De Tourettes are members of the staff of the Wellington branch of the Bank of 2fc\v Zealand.