Toboggan parts air-dropped

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32778, 1 December 1971, Page 22

Toboggan parts air-dropped

Clutch parts for their broken-down motor toboggans have now been successfully air-dropped to two stranded New Zealand research parties in the Antarctic. One of the toboggans was repaired by Saturday, and the other was tnade mobile again Monday.

The two two-man partiesl were 20 ffiiles apart and 10 i miles from their base, which is 350 miles north of Scotti Base, when both toboggans! had clutch failure about 10 days ago. Parts were not immediately available, and the men stayed with their vehicles while they were obtained. The first attempt to air-drop the parts, made on Friday, was only partly successful; the package dropped to one party was carried away by the wind. Because of this, a second air-drop was made on Saturday and was successful. Drs M. Laird and P. Andrews now have the two men in the other party, Messrs P. Kyle and P. Jennings, and resumed their work.

The superintendent of Antarctic Division, D.S.I.R. (Mr R. B. Thomson) said yesterday after talking with Scott Base by radio telephone that the two machines were heading north towards the base camp and the mountains where the men will continue their geological research. It was unusual for similar mechanical failures to occur without warning, and he was anxious to find out the cause,

said Mr Thomson. A third toboggan, held in reserve at the parties’ base camp, had not been used yet, and it was not known if there were signs of impending clutch failure on this.