N.S.W. AIR TRAGEDY

Grey River Argus, 20 September 1932, Page 6

N.S.W. AIR TRAGEDY

THREE LIVES LOST Plane’s Crash at Byron Bay HOLDEN A VICTIM. (Aus. & N.Z. Cable Assn). SYDNEY, September 18. One of the worst aeroplane accidents occurred to-day, at 10.30, on the North Coast of New South Wales, in the vicinity of the town of Bungalow, near Byron Bay. Three leading aviators were killed, when a Puss Moth machine crashed a thousand feet on the mountainside. The victims were Captain Leslie Holden (the well-known pilot who took part In various searches), Dr. George R. Hamilton, and Pilot Ralph A irtue, whose bodies were mutilated in a shocking manner. Holden and Hamilton were in the air liner Canberra, that found the lost Southern Cross, with the Kingsford Smith-Ulm party, in north-western Australia a few years ago. Holden afterwards was associated with the aerial party which searched for Anderson and Hitchcock, who perished in Central Australia. while looking for the Southern Cross. Hamilton was an expert aerial photographer. Virtue was an experienced pilot ami employed in {he New England Airways, which conducts an aerial passenger-mail service between Sydney, Lismore and Brisbane. Holden and Hamilton recently returned from New Guinea, where thev established aerial services to the goldfields. The pair only arrived at Sydney a week ago by the Machou, amt intended returning. Captain Holden was a war-time pilot, and had a notable record since he took up civil aviation. He had the reputation of being one of the most skilled pilots in Australia, and never had a forced landing in the strict sense of the term. He leaves a widow and three children.

Dr. Hamilton was a leading Sydney , medical practitioner, but has latterly devoted considerable time and money to aviation. He also leaves a widow and three, children. STORY OF THE TRAGEDY. SYDNEY. September 19. The ill-fated Puss-Moth aeroplane I left Sydney for Brisbane at 9 a.m.. and encountered bad weather right up the coast, misty, squally, and generally cloudy. The plane belonged to the New England Airways, North-West N.S.W., and it was piloted by Virtue. The pilot must have been Hying blind, owing to the bad weather. They emerged from the clouds and mist, and passed over a ridge five miles beyond Bungalow. Apparently they struck a tree, and the wing fell off. A desperate attempt was made to right the machine, which somersaulted into the valley, hundreds of feet, and was wrecked. Eye-witnesses state that the aeroplane appeared to be in trouble, and the pilot obviously intended to land. Bearing an explosion, the local people ran out in time to see th© wing break from the machine. Jules Moxon, aviator, who was on the scene soon after the accident, said lie thought the final dive was caused by the breaking of the left wing spar. Charles Langley saw the plane | battling through blinding rain, lashed by a strong southerly. “It was flying very low, and it seemed the pilot was trying to land. When the machine was nearing the ground, it suddenly shot into the air again, almost at, right angles, then the left wing cam© off, and th©, plane nose-dived, spinning round twice before it crashed, the, wreckage whirling over a hundred yards round the scene of the smash. The pilot, Virtue, was crushed in the twisted steelwork of the control seat, while in the wrecked fuselage were Holden and Hamilton. Every bone, in their bodies was broken, and their heads were fractured in several places. They were extricated with considerable difficulty. The watch on Virtue’s wrist had stopped at 1.25. That was the time the residents heard the explosion. Leisurely Flight ENGLISHMAN REACHES AUSTRALIA. (Aus & N Z Cable Assn). SYDNEY, September 19. A message, from Wyndham, Northwestern Australia states that an Englishman, Richard Allen, has landed there after a leisurely flight from England,. His trip across the Timor Sea occupied 5A hours, and it was uneventful. He saw the motorship, Koolinda, whereon was the German flier, Captain Bertram, who is about to salvage his seaplane “Atlantis”, which was beached there on May 15, after which he and his companion, wer lost. Mr Allen is flying to Melbourne via Perth and Adelaide.