Controls Tied By Rope At Take-off; Pilot Fined

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30626, 17 December 1964, Page 24

Controls Tied By Rope At Take-off; Pilot Fined

(New Zealand Pre si Association)

GISBORNE, Dec. 16. A pilot, whose aircraft failed to take off the Wairoa runway on July 17 because the control column and rudder pedals were tied with roj>e, was fined £25 by Mr L. N. Ritchie, SJI., yesterday. The pilot. Donald Cameron, was convicted on a charge of failing to ensure the aircraft was safe for flight. Cameron pleaded not guilty to two charges, one of which was later withdrawn, brought by the Department of Aviation.

“The defendant has a fair amount of sympathy from the court, but I believe that he did break the regulations,” said the Magistrate. Mr J. C. Egan, for the Department of Civil Aviation, said Cameron flew an aircraft from Gisborne to Wairoa on July 17 and in starting the return trip taxied off the runway. He could not lift the aircraft up because a length of half-inch rope tied the ailerons and the rudder. The plane skidded and was damaged. Neither the passenger nor the pilot was injured. George Henry Milden, a loader driver, said when a wind blew up, to save damage to the aircraft, he lashed the control column and rudder pedals with a piece of rope. Antoni Glowacki, regional operations officer for the Department of Civil Aviation, said the defendant said, “I assume I am guilty because I should have checked the controls but I didn’t.” The action of Mr Milden was completely justified. Cameron gave evidence that on the runway he found the “stick” jammed about halfway. He tired to free it with pressure and then

throttled down. The plane nose-dived when he applied the brakes. He had no reason to look towards the floor as he could check the controls by feel.