SEARCH FOR AIR FORCE PLANE

Press, Volume LXXXVII, Issue 26605, 15 December 1951, Page 6

SEARCH FOR AIR FORCE PLANE

Guides Scale Slopes Of Ruapehu

OBJECT FOUND ON GLACIER (New Zealand Press Association) WELLINGTON, December 14. Six guides from the Chateau Tongariro fought their way through snow and hail in a day-long search of the northern slopes of Mount Ruapheu to-day, in an attempt to find the missing Royal New Zealand Air Force Consul aircraft and its crew of three men.

Using ropes, ice axes, skis, and crampons, the guides struggled through snowdrifts and scaled ice-sheathed rocks from dawn until late in the afternoon, in a voluhtarv effort to find the aircraft.

An object which could be part of an aircraft was found by the guides at the foot of the Waikato glacier. R.N.Z.A.F. officials will inspect the object, but pending 'this inspection the Search and Rescue Organisation warns against attaching undue significance to the And.

The six men. all of whom are employed as guides and ski instructors at the Chateau, had volunteered for the search, said Mr L. S. Dennis, manager of the Chateau Tongariro, tonight. The men are Messrs N. Kerr, L. Frost, B. Barley, S. Kinder, J. Robinson, and W. Rae. Messrs Kerr and Robinson were the two guides who reported that, when 7000 feet up Mount Ruapehu, they had heard an aircraft flying near the mountain on Tuesday. The plane appeared to be travelling in a north-south direction, and if it did strike the oeaks after passing the guides, it would be on the northern side of the mountain

When the party left at dawn to-day, the weather was bad, and at first it hampered the men’s movements. About 9 a.m. the weather cleared, and the men were able to cover an area which included the Wangaehu and Waikato glaciers, the Cathedral rocks at 8700 feet, and the Te Heu Heu peak, at 9000 feet.

The guides searched thd plateau’s icefields and attempted to inspect the crater lakes, but the visibility was so poor that they could not observe the whole area. Guides Return to Hot

About 10.30 a.m. the weather began to deteriorate, and the men encountered snow and hailstorms which reduced visibility still further and delayed their progress. The guides struggled on through the storm in an attempt to cover as great an area as possible, but the weather became- worse, and they returned to the Ruapehu Ski Club’s hut, at 5860 feet, in the middle of the afternoon. The hut is connected by telepnone with the Chateau, and the party reported its progress to Mr Dennis. In parts of the ascent, the guides were forced to work with ropes over the icy ground. While three of the party concentrated on the snow slopes, where they could use their skis freely, the others scaled the higher peaks. Cloud on the mountain obscured the base country from view, and snow has fallen to about the 5000-foot level.

In the afternoon, Mr Robinson returned to the Chateau to obtain supplies. The guides were in good shape after their experiences, ana ready to continue.

The missing airmen carried with them in the Consul a rubber dinghy which had attached to it an emergency food supply, a first-aid kit, and a compass. With careful husbanding, the men could possibly make their way out to safety if they were not seriously injured, and if the supplies were not burnt.

Mr Dennis said that other parties had found their way down the mountain with less equipment, but had the airmen been able to move they should have been in safety by Wednesday. The air search for the Consul was again held up to-day bv bad weather. Seventeen flights, including one weather observation flight, were made, compared with 70 on Wednesday. An Auster aircraft, flying round Mount Ruapehu at 9500 feet, saw title guides at 7000 feet through patches of cloud, but could see nothing else. Five Harvard aircraft searched an srea north of Mount Ruapehu from ie Awakino river to Waitomo, without success. Operations will be intensified as soon as the weather clears. The Consul’s crew comprised Flight Lieutenant P. V. Goddard (the pilot), Flight Sergeant F. McD. Stark, and Sergeant R. W. Skelton, all of Wigram.