LOST R.A.F. PLANE

Grey River Argus, 17 April 1940, Page 4

LOST R.A.F. PLANE

PLANS FOR SALVAGE. CHRISTCHURCH. April 15. Aircraftsman W. Raphael and Leading Aircraftsman W. Everist, occupants of the Fairey Gordon biplane which made' a forced landing in the hills above Cass on Friday afternoon, arrived back nt the Royal New Zealand Air Force Station at Wigram late yesterday afternoon. Leading-Aircraftsman Everist hac- a sprained ankle but, apart from minor abrasions, neither man had signs of serious injury. The report of the forced <aiming published yesterday was confirmed from the reports of the crew last evening. The machine became lost in the heavy cloud on Friday afternoon and the pilot decided to make a forceci landing on what appeared to be a fairly level area when it was discovered that the aeroplane was over hilly country and that there were few breaks in the cloud. He “pancaked -he machine down; but the undercarriage was fairly extensively damaged when it caught in low scrub on the hill-side. A plan for the salvaging of tnc machine has been devised and. it m expected that an early start win oe made with the work. It is ex P ect ® d that some difficulty will be experienced because of ..ths rugged natuiu of the country. The aeroplane d d not turn over but the lower paits were torn in the scrub.