Plane Wreckage Believed Sighted

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31306, 28 February 1967, Page 14

Plane Wreckage Believed Sighted

(New Zealand Press Association)

HOKITIKA, February 26. Two passengers in an aircraft on a scenic flight over the Southern Alps on Saturday afternoon sighted what they believe to be the wreckage of an aircraft about the 4000 ft mark in the CookTasman area of the Copeland river.

Mr J. J. Thompson, an observer with the Meteorological Service in Hokitika, said after the flight that the object he sighted was white on top and looked like an aircraft with most of the port wing missing. The wreckage was also seen by another passenger, Mr Gee, of Renwicktown, Blenheim. Mr Thompson has made a statement to the Hokitika police. He said he sighted the wreckage on a ledge above the bush line near Welcome Flat in the Copeland river area. He estimated that the ledge was about 4000 ft. The pilot, Captain B. Waugh, of West Coast Airways, who has flown over the area many times, did not see what Mr Thompson and Mr Gee claim to be wreckage. He said he was flying at about 4500 ft at the time of the sighting. Unaccounted For The only aircraft not accounted for is a Dragonfly which disappeared on a flight from Christchurch to Milford Sound on February 12, 1962.

Piloted by Captain Brian Chadwick, it carried four passengers. A large-scale search for it was made at the time, but no trace was found. Mr Thompson’s statement on the sighting is being referred by the Hokitika police to the Civil Aviation Department, Christchurch, which coordinated the 1962 search. Further Search The regional supervisor of the Civil Aviation Department in Christchurch (Mr L. E. Duke) said last night that the department hoped to get the reported sighting pin-pointed from information given by the two passengers, with the assistance of Captain Waugh. When this information was available it would be checked against previous reports and, if necessary, a further aerial search of the area would be made. Mr Duke said a ground party had reported seeing wreckage in the area some time ago, but later searches had proved negative. Aerial searches had been made by pilots of the Mount Cook Airlines because of their Intimate knowledge of the locality. They would probably take part in any search organised as a result of Saturday’s report.