Fiordland search for flying priest

Press, 18 August 1978, Page 4

Fiordland search for flying priest

PA Invercargill Air Force planes, a helicopter and light aircraft crisscrossed Fiordland through snow squalls and rain yesterday in a bid to find a missing priest and the three companions he was piloting back from a fishing trip in a Cessna 180 aircraft. Rescue organisers finally railed off the search until first light this morning. The four men began their flight out on Tuesday afternoon. The rescue organisers believe they were forced down by bad weather, but all were experienced trampers and a search-and-rescue spokesman in Christchurch described their chances of survival — if they landed safely — as good. The privately owned aircraft, with the four men, Father Cyril Crosbie and Messrs Peter Robertson, Trevor Collins and Grant Sutherland, left the Big Bay area, in Fiordland, to return to Riversdale, northern Southland, about 4.20 p.m. on Tuesday.

For the missing plane to get out of Big Bay it would have had to have flown around the back of Lake Wakatipu and Cecil Peak, an intensely rugged and mountainous area.

A distress signal from a location beacon was picked up by an Argosy freighter aircraft en route to Invercargill about 9.30 a.m„ and rescue officials believe it may be from the missing aircraft. The signal was picked up about 105 km out from Invercargill, and by late morning the searching Andover was flying from the opposite direction in an attempt to get a fix on the signal. Authorities at the rescue centre Say the missing aircraft may be carrying a portable beacon. An R.N.Z.A.F. Devon aircraft flew from Wigram to Invercargill late in the morning to take over from the Andover when its fuel was exhausted. As the weather began to slowly clear a Mount Cook Airlines Cessna 185 from Queenstown joined in the search. A helicopter searched all known landing spots, and yesterday afternoon an Andover searched the coast from north of Milford Sound to south of Haast. The Devon and light aircraft from Te Anau and Queenstown searched valleys and mountain tops, but with

the weather remaining bad much of the area had to stay uncovered. A spokesman for Search and Rescue in Christchurch said visibility was down to about 1000 m for most of the time. The search was called off at about 5 p.m. At first light this morning searchers will return to the area in three Devons, an Andover, a helicopter and light aircraft. Ground parties will not go in until a sighting is made. The four men all live in the Riversdale region. They had been fishing for a week, and were well equipped with plenty of food, clothing and sleeping bags when they left Big Bay. A prayer meeting was held in Riversdale yesterday in the home of one of the missing men, Mr Peter Robertson. Prayers were also said for the missing men in local schools. Father Crosbie, in his thirties and known affectionately as Croz, is the former parish priest at Mataura and is now parish priest in Riversdale. He is an Army chaplain and is believed to have piloted the Bishop of Dunedin on several journeys.