NO TRACE

Evening Post, Volume CXXX, Issue 81, 2 October 1940, Page 10

NO TRACE

MISSING AIRCRAFT

SEARCH CONTINUING

VERY WIDE AREA

No trace of the Oxford aircraft or its crew of thres, who were reported missing on Monday afternoon en a flight from Hobsonville to Ohakea, was discovered in an extensive aerial search carried out" yesterday ;by ■■machines- of the Royal New Zealand Air- Force, according to an official announcement made this afternoon. ' \ . ' :

Visibility conditions over land were bad yesterday morning, but improved later in Hie day) However/ the visibility was good over the sea, which was calm, and an extensive, search was carried out over the South .Taranaki Bight,'without results., .Tiie search Syas ; resumed. this morning, .when"'four, aircraft fr.om Ohakea and. two .aircraft from New Plymouth took 'off; at 7.30 o'clock. Visibility was', then repox-ted, to ..b2 fair. Two ol tlia''.". Ohakea. machines searched an area between Pipiriki and... Manga weka, while the other two searched ihs Ruahines between Palmerston North' and Mak'-a-retu. The twi aircraft from"New Plymouth c3rried;out a search inland from the mouth of the Mokau-River. Meanwhile, another aircraft from Hobsonville was searching inland between Auckland and the,Mokau -River. All reports up to noori today were negative. ■ ; . ■ ■.. . -...'-.

The search over land continued later, covermg the area between Stratford and Pipiriki, and as' far "north as Te Heinga' .Point. - .•• ■ . -:■-. ■ ■ .

So far no report has bSen> received which might throw' some definite light on-the. movements of th 3 missing "aircraft after it reached ihe .Tarariaki- aveA. Machines of the Royal New r Zealarid Air Forca have therefore to cover an extremely wide area. ; The search is continuing.