AIRMEN RESCUED IN ANTARCTICA BY U.S. PLANE

Greymouth Evening Star, 26 September 1947, Page 7

AIRMEN RESCUED IN ANTARCTICA BY U.S. PLANE

NEW YORK, Sept. 24. The three British* airmen from Major K. S. Pierce-Butler’s British Antarctic expedition, whose Auster aeroplane crashed in a forced landing, are now safe after nine days’ exposure to severe Polar weather, according to Commander Finn Ronne, leader of the • American Antarctic expedition.' The Ronne expedition’s Norseman aeroplane sighted them walking towards their base, which was 30 miles or about 10 days’ travel, distant. The American pilot, Captain James Lassiter, landed in a very small space and picked up the men, who had been living on an emergency ration limited to 600 calories a day for each man. Pilot’s Report Fear was first felt for the Britons when the Auster failed to keep a rendezvous on September 15 with an American aeroplane at Cape Keeler, 120 miles from a base where the Britons and Americans were to have stored supplies for a projected trail party. The British pilot, Mr W. H. Thompson, said after the rescue that his aeroplane landed at the rendezvous and the crew began marking out a strip with orange flags for the American aeroplane. The American aeroplane was flying so high, however, that it‘failed to see the strip or the Auster. . 7 ; ’

The Britons then had to take off because ovefcast conditions were closing in fast. They had to fly on instruments, which is particularly difficult in the Antarctic. The pilot made a mistake in choosing a bearing and then headed for Marguerite Bay, having decided to land as soon as possible and sleep overnight beside the aeroplane.

When the Auster reached the bay, visibility was down to 100 yards. The aeroplane hit a rough break in the ice. One ski broke oil, and the aircraft toppled over and ripped off a wing and broke its back. The crew were shaken but not injured. Trek Against Blizzards

Next day the Britons removed the belly tank and converted it into a rough sled for hauling emergency gear and food. They knew their, approximate position and how long it would take to reach their base, and accordingly limited their rations. They had little hope of rescue, since they were well off their course. They gradually became weaker as they trekked against blizzards of 60 to 80 miles an hour.

Meanwhile, both the Ronne and the British expeditions searched intensively, and eventually the Norseman aeroplane found the lost men. The Britons at first did not realise that they had been seen. They hurriedly struggled to light their last red smokebomb, and only when the American aeroplane turned to land did they realise they were saved.