U.S.A. AIRMAN’S FATAL CRASH

Greymouth Evening Star, 27 November 1929, Page 5

U.S.A. AIRMAN’S FATAL CRASH

BRITISH-BOUGHT MACHINE DROPS TEN THOUSAND FEES (By Cable—Press Assn.—Copyrfgnt.l WASHINGTON, November 25. ; Lieut. George Caddihy, an experienced naval pilot, was killed when the plane that he was testing crashed. The plane fell from an altitude of 10,000 feet, and it buried itself so far in the earth that only the pilot’s feet were visible. The Navy bought this plane following on the Schneider Cup races, and it was named the “British Pistol Bulldog.” It was a single-seater biplane, capable of doing 180 miles per hour with a full military load. His fellow aviators who witnessed Lieut. Caddihy’s dramatic death cannot understand why he failed to use the parachute. It is recalled that a fortnight ago this crack pilot while testing another plane in a power drive, was threatened with death when one of the wings collapsed. On that occasion Caddihy remained with his plane, and he-brought it down safely. RlOO COMPLETED. LONDON, November 25. The airship “R 100 has been officially handed over to the Air Ministry. She is described as being- the world’s fastest airship. The engines develop 2000 more horsepower than those of the “R1O1,” while her dead weight lifting capacity is 20 tons greater. It is also claimed that her different design has strengthened the metal skeleton. A flight will be -made towards the week-end, with Major Scott in command. LADY HEATH’S DEBTS. LONDON, November 26. Sir James Heath’s repudiation of his wife’s debts, reached another stage in the King’s Bench Division, when he contested a claim for £239 foi* gowns supplied by West End Court dressmakers just before Lady Heath’s departure for America. The evidence revealed that Sir James Heath settled on his wife trust securities valued at £20,000, from which her annual income amounts to £925. She did not arrive at the church on the first date arranged for their wedding, because the settlement was not made. Consequently the ceremony had to be postponed. When Sir James Heath returned from Africa, he paid bills for her amounting to £lOOO, including the price of' an aeroplane. People were clamouring to be paid for dresses that she obtained after Sir Jas Heath had prohibited her pledging his credit. The case was adjourned. NEW ZEALANDER’S TRAVELS LONDON, Noyember 25. “It is a fascinating game—the best way of seeing the world imaginable,” said Mr F. C. Chachester, a ‘young man from Wellington, New Zealand, who began flying in 1927. He came to England, and bought a Moth plane in which he has been flying over the Continent,- preparatory to any longer flights. He told the" “Sun” that one who goes air touring gets off the beaten tracks. “You see the real people, not showplays,” he said. “I am unable to navigate, so I use maps and railway lines. I land where suitable. I fly alone, and I please myself. I ] could spend years circumnavigating the world like that. It is perfectly safe. I do not get lost. . I do not lose interest. The trouble is the passports and the authorities’ interference. As soon as the plane lands anywhere however remote, I am surrounded by customs, police and military officials, all demanding papers. I was forced to land in a remote corner of Roumania, near the Russian border, whereupon I was immediately arrested as a Bolshevik spy, and was told that I would be shot. I. had the greatest difficulties in establishing my bonafides, as nobody there had ever heard of New Zealand.”