Weather stops search

Press, 19 August 1978, Page 1

Weather stops search

PA Invercargill Bad weather yesterday again hampered searchers looking for a light aircraft and its four occupants missing in Fiordland since Wednesday. The men have not been heard of since their plane left Big Bay on the west coast of Fiordland. The Rev. Cyril Francis Crosbie, aged 37, of Riversdale, Trevor George Collins, aged 50, of Waimea, Gordon Grant Sutherland, aged 28. of Waipounamu, and Peter Alexander Robertson, aged about 40, of Wendonside, flew to Big

Bay last Sunday to visit friends and do some fishing and deerstalking. They were in a blue and white Cessna 180 aircraft belonging to Central Western Air. Father Crosbie was the pilot. The weather was starting to close in when the men left Big Bay on Wednesday and Search and Rescue personnel believe that they might have been forced down. Yesterday 11 aircraft searched an area of 160 km by 100 km of some of the most rugged country in New Zealand. But snow started to fall and by mid-

afternoon all fixed-wing aircraft had to be grounded. A helicopter continued to search until about 5 p.m. The search will resume today. Last evening’s nontotalisator meeting of the Northern Southland Trotting Club was called off because of the search. Some of the persons involved in the trotting meeting were assisting the searchers. One of the missing men, Mr Collins, is a vicepresident of the club and Mr Sutherland is a prominent trotting personality ifl northern Southland.