TARGET PRACTICE TRAGEDY

Evening Star, Issue 22273, 26 February 1936, Page 10

TARGET PRACTICE TRAGEDY

AIRMAN'S FATAL DIVE BRISTOL FIGHTER CRASHES [Per United Press Association.] CHRISTCHURCH, February 25. ' When his aeroplane crashed into the sandy shore of Lake Ellesmere through failing to come out of a dive from about I,oooft ’ during target practice, Flying-officer Graham M. Owen, agec. 23, of Owen’s road, Epsom, Auckland, received severe head injuries and died in the Christchurch Hospital at 2 o’clock this afternoon, one hour after admission. . . Tlie machine, a Bristol _ Fighter, owned by the New Zealand Air torce, was ruined beyond repair, the engine being the only substantial part salvaged. Flying-officer Owen was the only occupant of the aeroplane. He was a member of the No. 1 A. C. Squadron of the New Zealand Territorial Air Force, which draws its personnel mainly from Auckland. The squadron began a 10 days’ refresher course, at Wigram a week ago. To-day the squadron hew in seven aeroplanes to carry out machine-gun practice from the air on the north side of Lake Ellesmere. A .bombing target was placed on the shore, and Fyingofficer Owen swooped down from a height of I,oooft to pump shots into it, but instead of the machine coming out of the dive at 200 ft it failed to

straighten out and dived nose iirst into the sandy mud, finally coming to rest about 4oyds from where it first struck. The under-carriage was ripped off, and the aeroplane turned over on its back and somersaulted again. Flying-officer Owen had not fired a shot. , He was lifted unconscious from the aeroplane and taken to hospital. It appears that too late the pilot attempted to straighten his machine from its dive, for when it landed it scooped out in the earth a hole 2ft deep and 2yds long. The nose was buried in the sand. One theory is that Owen, with all his attention concentrated on adjusting his gun sights from his seat in front of the aeroplane, overlooked the uprush of earth towards him until it was too late. After . the accident the target was moved 100yds along the beach, and the other officers continued their practice. There were at least two eye-witnesses of the accident—officers who were on range duty near the target. It was one of four Bristol fighters at the aerodrome. The type was designed in 1917, and this ■mabhine has been in commission at Wigram for about eight years, having been in use for some years before that. It is said to have been in first-class flying condition. The inquest on Flying-officer Owen will be opened to-morrow and the circumstances of the accident will be considered by a Court of Inquiry ordered by the Director of Air Services.