Burnt pair crawl from plane crash

Press, 31 March 1980, Page 6

Burnt pair crawl from plane crash

PA?- ” Wellington

Two shockingly burned fliers crawled fronx the blazing wreckage of their plane and crossed more than a kilbmietre of drains, creeks, and fences to a farmhouse on Saturday.

The instructor of the Paraparaumu,Aero Club, Mr Kevin Laplainche, was on a training flight with a pupil, Bernard Smith, when they hit a 110,000 volt transmission line south of Otaki about 6.15 p.m. The plane is thought to have burst into flames in the air before falling in a blazing heap to the paddock below. The meh managed, to get out of ’the jplane, and/Mr Smith began making-his way toward lights ‘ in . the distance. •■ *’ ’ A Te Horo farmer’s wife, Mrs Pam Hawea, had seen smoke but knew nothing of the crash until she heard Mr Smith calling for help outside her dack door about one kilometre and a. half from the wreck. She rushed; outside and

found a young man with terrible bums struggling-to stay 1 on his feet; . ' “He was really badly’ burnt,” Mrs Hawea'said. < i “The worst part was his 1 hands—blood and skin everywhere. He told me to i call an ambulance —there had been an accident and a plane i had crashed. Then he fell i down."' ‘ . 1 He was worried about his friend who .wasffhurt; even 1 more badly, she said. He 1 had ’pulled - Laplahche < from the wreckage and told 1 hirir to wait while he went ( for help.

Mrs Hawea asked a neighbour,’Joan Murray, to call an ambulance and the police while she tried to help the injured man. “He kept asking for water. I just gave it to him bit by bit,” she said. •_ / - As they waited for the ambulance she heard one else; crying out faintly in the darkness outside. “He was; caling - for ’help me, is anyone there? Help me,”’ she said. :. . , Mr Laplanche had tried to follow Mr Smith toward the lights, and was wandering, in a field a few hundred metres from the house. Mr John Murray set off to search the paddocks with his son, aged 12. ; They: found Mr Laplanche standing: unsteadily on the edge'of. ?adrain. ; “He was burned from head to <tbe—all -his . clothes were burnt off . him, even his underpants’,' but. he was. still standing up and talking,” Mr Murray said. “He kept saying; ‘it’s hurting.”’ . Other neighbours arrived and they looked after the men until the ambulance arrived. ’The two men were taken to Hutt Hospital where Mr Laplanche was in a critical condition last evening. Mr Smith’s condition was serious. • • The club’s chief flying; in-

structor (Mr Ben Stafford) said Mr Smith was a trainee pilot who had flown six or seven times.

The flight on Saturday was to practise engine failure after take-off and was in the official Paraparaumu Aero Club flying area. He said Mr Laplanche was an experienced pilot who had recently joined the aero club as instructor. The Chief Inspector of Air Accidents (Mr R. Chippindale) is investigating the cause.