LUCKY ESCAPE FOR PILOT
Walked Out Of Burning Plane
(N.Z. Press Association—Copyright) SYDNEY, December 14.
A sabre jet fighter crash landed at 200 miles an hour at Williamtown, near Newcastle, today and burst into flames, but the pilot walked out unharmed.
The jet, piloted by FlightLieutenant Don White, of Brisbane, had been airborne for. about 25 minutes when its hydraulics, failed, making effective control impossible. Flight - Lieutenant White radioed he was returning, to base and arrangements were made for an emergency landing. After staying aloft as long as possible to burn off fuel supplies, Flight-Lieutenant White came in for a crash landing. As he set the Sabre down, the undercarriage collapsed. The jet, still travelling at high speed, tore 1500 feet along the runway on its belly. The jet then veered to the right of the strip and burst into flames. But the crash crew was ‘‘at the ready.” A Royal Australian Air Force spokesman said this afternoon the fire was extinguished in “five or six seconds.” Flight-Lieutenant White stepped out of the cockpit of the Sabre and walked away.
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Bibliographic details
Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29389, 16 December 1960, Page 24
Word Count
180LUCKY ESCAPE FOR PILOT Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29389, 16 December 1960, Page 24
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