EGMONT ’PLANE CRASH

Greymouth Evening Star, 15 September 1934, Page 7

EGMONT ’PLANE CRASH

FINDING THE BODIES MACHINE IN PIECES [pee press association.] NEWPLYMOUTH, September 14. Mangled by the terrific force of the crash, the -wreckage of the “ZK-ABS” plane, missing from New Plymouth airport, since 2- o’clock on Thursday afternoon, was found by a party of searchers at 10.30 o’clock this morning. Under the wreckage of portion of the fuselage were the bodies of the occupants, James Austin, photographer, and S. J. Green, pilot, both wellknown New Plymouth men. So completely, wrecked was the 'plane that it is doubtful if an aerial serach would ever have located it. Fragments of the framework of the fuselage, fabric, petrol tank, and engine were scattered over a radius of 50 yards. Portion of one wing was attached to a tall sapling 70 yards from where the engine lay. A few feet from the bodies of the flyers tattered strips of wing and body hung from a huge rata, against which the machine had dashed itself to pieces. The casing of the engine was shattered by the force of the impact ,and it lay 40 feet from the large tree, which had. had its limbs lopper from the terrific effect of the crash. It seemed probable that the plane had dived at a high speed, and that the pilot had been unable to pull the nose up in time to clear the treetops. The bodies. of Austin and Green were recognisable only by their clothing, and it is apparent that they met their deaths instantly. They lay under a shattered portion of the overturned fuselage beneath the front and rear cockpits. Pending investigation by experts, no theory can be advanced as to the cause of the accident. The locality in which the plane came to earth is heavily timbered, and is accessible only under expert guidance. It is broken b5 r steep gorges, and tangled with supplejacks. The wreckage lies 200 yards above a small tributary of the Kauauai River, on its -western side, at a point, about three miles from the radius line. The distance from the crest of the range at. that point is roughly 1000 feet, and the accident occurred at an altitude of three thousand feet. So exact had been the information supplied by the trappers, who had heard the crash on the previous afternoon, Mr. R. Burrows and his son, that three independent parties of searchers were converging to that one point when the discovery was made. Under exceedingly difficult conditions, the bodies were carried out of the bush before dusk to-night. The distance from the scene of the crash to the nearest, road is about nine miles, and the wild nature of the country made the task exceedingly arduous. Cold showers, following on a brilliant morning, added to the unpleasantness of the work. Overnight large parties had been carefully organised to begin the search by air and on foot. With the break of day, cold mist soon began to creep down the mountainside, but the aeroplanes succeeded in locating portion of the plane in the trees and in assisting the ground parties.

DROP ON LIONS’ CAGE. PARACHUTIST’S ADVENTURE (Recd. September 15, 11 a.m.) LONDON, September 14. Dropping 1000 feet from an aeroplane at Leatherhead, a professional parachutist, Ben Turner, crashed through the trees and landed on the top of a lions’ cage at Chessington Zoo. Two enraged beasts sprang at the top of the cage, savagely bitting and clawing the bars on which Turner stood, held fast by the entangled parachute. The zoo fire brigade was called out to quell the lions. A trainer, armed with blank cartridge revolver and whip entered the cage, but was driven back. While the lions’ attention was diverted, Turner extricated the harness and reached safety. WILEY POST’S PLANS NEW YORK, September 13. At Oklahama City, Wiley Post said: “The special supercharger will have to be completely rebuilt. This will take a month or six weeks, for I do not want to rush things. It would be impossible for me to put in the replacements and fix up the plane for the Australian race, although I would sure like to be in there with that bunch of boys.” He said that his stratosphere climb showed no other ill effects in the craft or motor, adding, “I am convinced I can hang up a new heavier-than-air altitude record next time. As soon as I can get some rest and get these repairs I am going out to set that mark.” Wiley Post expects to leave in a few days to join friends on a month’s big game hunt in Alaska.

INTERNATIONAL RACE. WARSAW, September 14. Gedgowd (Poland) won the international air race. Eighteen finished.