'PLANE DAMAGED.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIII, Issue 302, 21 December 1932, Page 14

'PLANE DAMAGED.

FORCED LANDING. ENGINE CUTS OUT IN AIR. MISHAP AT MANGERE. An Avro-Avian biplane piloted by Mr. ]). McNicol, of Dannevirke, and carrying Miss I. Gunn, of Taumarunui, as passenger, was damaged this morning at Mangere, when a forced landing was made owing to the motor cutting out.

The 'plane took off about 10 a.m. on a flight to Xew Plymouth, and before it was properly in the air the engine stopped. Sufficient altitude had not been reached to enable the pilot to turn round and make a landing at the aerodrome, and he decided to land as baat lie could. He was forced to pancake on to a kno 1 ! in a paddock across the water from the clubhouse.

The surface was somewhat rough, anj a landing wheel flew ■ off when the machine touched the ground. This caused the 'plane to fall on its eide and turn sharply round, the left wing being damaged in the operation. The machine then tipped on its nose, crumpling the nose-spinner and damaging the propeller. Neither pilot nor passenger was hurt. They both got clear from their safety belts without assistance.

"It was a perfectly good landing," said Mr. McNicol, "but oae could not foresee a wheel coming off. That wae the cause of the damage. Apart from the machine, we have only suffered in our dignity," he added with a smile.

The 'plane is the property of Mr. llcNicol, who is a member of the Dannevirke branch of the Wairarapa Aero Club. He left Dannevirke last Friday for Taumarunui, where he picked up Miss Gunn, who is also a member of the Wairarapa Aero Club. They flew from there to Hamilton, and came on to Mangere last Saturday morning. Since then they liave made several flisjhte, including one to Whangarei. They intended to visit New Plymouth, Wanganui and other towns on the way to Dunedih.

Mr. F. A. N. North, ground engineer at the Mangere aerodrome, was a -witness of the landing. He- stated that the, engine did not seem to be firing too well when the 'plane took off. It reached an altitude of about 300 or 400 feet, but that was insufficient to enable the pilot to turn round and land, and he was forced to do the best he could in the circumstances. The damage was not very extensive, he said. The machine would require two new spars and the undercarriage needed some attention as well as tSie propeller. It would take a day or two to place the machine in commission again.

The 'plane, which has been the property of Mr. McNicol for about eighten months, was formerly owned by Mr. F. C. Chichester, the New Zealand aviator who enhanced a world reputation by flying from Auckland to Sydney via Norfolk and Lord Howe Islands.