AN AEROPLANE CRASH

Press, Volume LXXI, Issue 21377, 21 January 1935, Page 12

AN AEROPLANE CRASH

Christchurch Man Drowned DIVE INTO SEA MACHINE A TOTAL LOSS Mr Richard Noel Roake, manager of the Regent Theatre, Christchurch, was drowned on Saturday afternoon shortly after an aeroplane he was flying crashed into the sea off the coast of Waipara, North Canterbury. His passenger, Mr Cecil Haigh, manager of the Majestic Theatre, and a close friend of Mr Roake's, was not seriously injured in the accident, and managed to reach safety after an exhausting struggle in the water. Mr Haigh, however, is now in a serious nervous condition, mainly because of his heroic efforts to save Mr Roake and later to lead searchers to the locality of the crash. The aeroplane, a Moth machine owned by the Canterbury Aero Club, registered ZK-ABQ, was completely wrecked, and its position is so inaccessible and remote that no form of salvage will be possible. Its tail was visible from the shore yesterday at low tide, but the machine itself is breaking up rapidly in a fairly calm sea. Bad Visibility Mr Roake and Mr Haigh made a business trip to Wellington by air on Saturday morning and left on the return flight in the early afternoon. Flying conditions were extremely bad; there was a heavy fog over the sea and the land, and the weather showed no signs of clearing. Mr Roake flew low and tried to keep the coastline continually in view, but this became increasingly difficult as the aeroplane neared North Canterbury. Both pilot and passenger . saw Motunau Island through the fog, but visibility after that point was very difficult. . About 10 miles north of the mouth of the Waipara river a steep cliff face loomed out of the fog directly in front of the machine, and, in a desperate effort to avoid a crash. Mr Roake banked steeply to the left Evidently he misjudged his altitude, for his left wing struck the sur-' face of the sea, some 250 yards from the shore, and the machine turned over and dived.

Trapped in Cockpits Pilot and passenger were trapped in their cockpits, strapped to their seats and completely submerged. Each made violent efforts to free himself, and LL Haigh, who was in the front cockpit and directly beneath the wings, managed to break his way out before Mr Roake and to help his friend from the machine. Neither had been seriously hurt in striking the water, but naturally, both were suffering from .extreme shock and dangerous breathlessness.

Their condition was not improved by their struggle in the water and both must have drowned if they had not been able to seize on the detached wheels of the aeroplane and keep themselves afloat. Even this stroke of good fortune offered only temporary relief, for both men were hampered by their heavy and baggy flying costumes, and the ebb tide threatened to carry them out to

Mr Haigh realised that their onlv chance lay in retaining their grip of the wheels and of paddling themselves towards the beach. He told Mr Roake to "hang on" while they fought to remove their waterlogged flying trousers. This proved no easy task, and both men exhausted much of their remaining strength in trying to free their ankles from the close-fitting costumes. Mr Roake's Mistake Mr Roake then made a fatal mistake. He called to Mr Haigh that he was going to make a dash for it; he left his floating wheel, and began to swim towards the shore. He made some progress and managed to reach a rock which both men had seen about 100 yards in the direction of the beach. Mr Haigh struggled towards him with the aid of his float, but lost sight of him when he was washed-off the rock by the swell. Mr Roake must have been dashed against the rock, for when ,Mr Haigh reached him he was floating about it in a half-unconscious condition. . Mr Haigh managed to drag his companion ashore, but only to find that he was dead. Mr Roake had a large and ugly bruise on his head, obviously the result of striking the rock. The blow must.have rendered him helpless and he must have dsowned before assistance arrived. Search for Assistance Although he was practically exhausted and although he was bruised and shocked, Mr Haigh set out immediately in search of assistance. He climbed from the rocky beach and made over precipitous country towards a hut he saw in the hills. When he reached it he found it empty. He turned to the south and walked for miles before he saw any sign of habitation. Eventually he caught sight of a homestead, and he arrived there five hours after leaving the beach. He told his story to the farmer, Mr William Mackintosh, and insisted on leading a party in search of Mr Roake. The fog was so thick, however, and darkness came down so quickly that they could not find the locality of the crash. The search was extremely arduous for a man in good condition, but it was doubly so for Mr Haigh, who steadily refused to relax his efforts. Early next morning he left again with searchers and this time they were successful. They found the body of Mr Roake and saw the tail of the

machine, uncovered at low tide, standing vertically 250 yards out to sea. Mr Haigh's Condition Mr Haigh returned to the Glenalford homestead almost in a state of collapse after making the sevenmile trip betweeri the beach and the farm five times in less than 17 hours. His efforts were described as superhuman, but they had cost him a great deal of nervous strength. He fell into a deep sleep , yesterday afternoon, and was brought to Christchurch last evening. His nervous condition is regarded as serious. Mr Roake's body was brought to the farm by packhorse yesterday afternoon and later carried to Christchurch.

The search parties, which spared nothing in their distressing work, included Flight Lieutenant M. W. Buckley, of the Royal New Zealand Air Force, Mr R. A. Kirkup, instructor to the Canterbury Aero Club, Mr J. J. Busch, the Aero Club commercial pilot, Mr Mackintosh, of Waipara, Mr Claude Haigh, of Christchurch Cinemas, father of Mr Cecil Haigh, and Mr H. Waters and Mr R. Hall, of Christchurch Cinemas. Flight Lieutenant H. B. Burrell, of the Royal New Zealand Air Force, flew from Christchurch late on Saturday afternoon in a vain attempt to locate the sunken aeroplane. Mr- l>ake, a married man with one child, was 36 years of age. He was born in Cork and joined the army at the agg, of 16, serving throughout the war with a Lancer regiment. He came to New Zealand after the war and spent some time in a Hawke's Bay motor business before joining the staff of Christchurch Cinemas. He was' trained as a pilot in the Zealand Air Force in 1930, and since then has been one of the most enthusiastic members of a New Zealand bombing squadron. Mr Roake was a keen golfer, criqketer, and angler. i