CRASH ON ICE

Dominion, Volume 27, Issue 146, 17 March 1934, Page 7

CRASH ON ICE

One of Byrd Expedition Planes OCCUPANTS SHAKEN Machine Becomes Total Wreck NEW ZEALANDER ABOARD By Telegraph—Press Assn. —Copyright. New York, March 15. A message from Little America on Wednesday states that the singleengined Fokker monoplane, the Blue Blade, one of the four of the expedition, crashed at 12.30 p.m. on Wednesday 500 yards south of Little America. The pilot, Lieutenant-Commander Schlossbach, of the United States navy, and the three passengers, including Harry Young, of New Zealand, were severely shaken or suffered slight cuts, but were otherwise uninjured. The aeroplane was completely wrecked. The engine and instruments can be salvaged. The Fokker had just taken off at a temperature of 20 below zero for a test flight preparatory to a southern flight in company with the Pilgrim monoplane. Togther the two aeroplanes were to transport to a depot 100 miles south food -and stores required for an advance winter base which Admiral Byrd proposed to establish on the Ross ice barrier approximately 200 miles south of Little America. Tractors are now making ready here for the southern advance. They are to pick up stores and relay them as far through as time and weather will permit. Admiral Byrd was disinclined to let the crash discourage the immediate prosecution of various southern missions. Last week’s three days’ blizzard, overcast skies, abominable visibility, and high drift-laden winds have seriously delayed the projected southern excursions. “Good weather is too precious this season to be wasted,” said the admiral. "So long as we have good weather, and from now until April 19 when the winter night sets in it will be rare, we must take advantage of it.” MACHINE DESCRIBED Wing Span of 54 Feet The Fokker monoplane was a large machine with a wing span of 54 feet 8 inches,, and accommodation for eight or ten passengers. It was fitted with a single Curtiss “Cyclone” motor of 575 horse-power, giving it a cruising speed of 110 miles an hour. Rear-Admiral Byrd took with him four aeroplanes, including the Fokker which has crashed. The others were the great Curtiss Condor biplane, which has a wing span of 82 feet, and is fitted with two Wright '“Cyclone” motors, each of 710 horse-power, a Pilgrim monoplane, about the same size and speed as the Fokker, and a Kellet-Snowman auto-gyro plane of 225 horse-power. In addition. Admiral Byrd has the big Ford triple-engined plane in which he made his South Polar flight in 192829. and the Fairchild . plane. These machines were found intact after five years’ exposure at Little America, and, if need be. can be fitted with the spare engines. taken south by the present expedition. . It is something of a coincidence that Admiral Byrd lost a Fokker monoplane, similar to that which has just crashed, on his first expedition. It was flown to the then recently discovered Rockefeller Mountains and was torn from its moorings and badly wrecked in a violent gale. When no radio messages were received from the stranded party, Admiral Byrd flew to their assistance in the Fairchild plane, which took them safely back to Little America. Lieut.-Commander Isaac Sehlossbach, who was in charge of the Fokker when it crashed this week, has had considerable flying experience and was the second aviation officer of the expedition, the first being Mr. Harold June. LIFE OF ADVENTURE New Zealander in Crash Mr. R. H. Young, the New Zealander reported to be slightly injured in .the crash, joined the expedition at Wellington in December. Mr. Young has had considerable experience in diving work. He took part in the salvaging operations on the German fleet at Scapa Flow. On one occasion. while working in tihe Flow in 2o fathoms of water, Mr. Young blew open a safe and brought to the surface valuable napers .and instruments. After he came to New Zealand, -Mr. Young was engaged on work at the Arapuni dam in a six-knot current —a dangerous task which only' a highly qualified man could carry out. Twice at least he narrowly avoided a serious accident while engaged on the work. Proper precautions were not always taken to see that accidents were avoided in these div- - ins operations, he said, and several times he had close calls through carelessness “up above.” Once, while he was engaged in salvaging a naval pinnace off Colombo. Ceylon, Mr. Young had an encounter with a huge octopus, and had to come to the top in a hurry. However, he was down again the next day and succeeded in nutting the slings round the ship ready for hoisting. Several with diving experience went south in the Jacob Ruppert, their services to be utilised in the event of damage to the ship’s plates in tihe ice.