FORCED LANDING.

Auckland Star, Volume LXX, Issue 109, 11 May 1939, Page 14

FORCED LANDING.

'PLANE RUNS INTO SURF. TWO OFFICERS UNINJURED. (By Telegraph. —Tress Association.) CHRINTCHURC'H, Wednesday. A forced landing was made by a Blackburn Baflin light bomber belonging to the Royal New Zealand Air Force at Pigeon Bay, Banks Peninsula, about noon to-dav. The two occupants, Pilot-Officer W. A. Hopkins, the pilot, and Pilot-Officer R. Grant, navigator, both of Christchurch, wore not injured. Tile machine, which lauded on the edge of the beach and turned over in the surf, was i-oiisidorably damaged. Tlie two officers, who are members of tlie Territorial Air Force, are attending a course of instruction in flying at the training school at Wigrani. They left the Wigram aerodrome this morning on navigation exercise, the course being to Timaru and back to Wigram, via Akaroa. They were due to return to the station at mid-day and, as they had not put in an appearance at that time, aeroplanes were sent out to look for them. When the missing machine was located the aeroplanes returned to Wigram, and 10 minutes later PilotOfficer Hopkins telephoned the station informing the authorities of the accident. A relit , f party was despatched tc Hay with clothing fur the airmen, who were wet through when thr machine came down on tlie bench. 'llk cause of the mishap is not known.