PLANE CRASH

Grey River Argus, 4 July 1944, Page 3

PLANE CRASH

FURTHER DETAILS The Survivors EXTENT OF INJURIES. The condition .of all of the- ■ survivors of the air crash on Mi. Hope, except Mrs. Russell, is stated to be satisfactory. Mrs. Russell, is reported to be dangerously ill. Details of the injuries of the survivors are. Mrs.' E. Russell, of Granity, near Westport; fractured left femur, compound fracture right tibia, severe wound in the left foot, lacerations and shock. Miss A. Patterson, matron of the Westport Public Hospital, fractured pelvis and scalp wounds. Mr. G M. Strathmore, general manager of Macduffs, Ltd., Wellington, suspected fracture of the skull, concussion, and shock. Mr. B. R. Perry, sales manager of Macduffs, Ltd., Wellington, fractured ribs. Flight Lieutenant P. C. Lewis, R.N.Z.A.F., of Hokitika, pilot of the aircraft, concussion, scalp wounds, fractured nose, and crushing injuries to left foot. ‘Captain Mercer and Mr. Dawe were in the front seat of the plane, and Mr. Dawe received multiple injuries, his death being instantaneous. Captain Mercer’s injuries included a fracture of the left leg and severe chest injuries, his death resulting from these injuries and from shock. Shortly after the plane left Nelson, survivors state, one of the plane’s motors failed. In the mountainous and bush-covered country a forced landing was practically impossible, and with the plane losing height rapidly the crash was unavoidable. The plane was badly wrecked in heavy bush, and the body of the machine was suspended some 12 feet in t'he air. Statements by Survivors NELSON, July 3. From statements made by two of the passengers to-day it appears that the Air Travel (N.Z.) Led. plane crashed on the slopes of Mount Hope on Friday afternoon, about threequarters of an hour after it had left the Nelson aerodrome. Until then the trip had been pleasant, and although light rain was met over Glenhope visibility .remained good. The passengers had no warning that anything was (amiss until the plane banked steeply and suddenly dropped into the bush on .the hillside. The fuselage was torn open on the trees, and most of the Djassengers were hurtled to the ground some from a height of about 30 feet. Mr. S. M. Strathmore was the only one who remained in the plane. The others were scattered about among the trees, one of the women: coming to rest in a sitting position, still strapped in her seat. Graphic stories of the crash and the subsequent happenings were told by Miss A. Patterson, Matron of the Buller hospital, and Mr. B. R. Perry, of Wellington, when interviewed at the Nelson Hospital to-day. Until the plane struck the trees, said Miss Patterson, she had no suspicibn that there was anything amiss. The weather was fine when they left Nelson and remained so until Glenhope, when they ran into light rain. Visibility remained good, however, and the rain was not sufficient even to mist 1 the window's. Everything on -the ground was clearly visible and she remembered seeing Glenhope before the machine left the road line to cross the Saddle wher the crash occurred. The trip was very comfortable! and she believedl she might have dozed for a while, but she felt the plane start to turn off its. course and it was immediately after that that they hit the ground. It seemed to her that the plane must have been caught in a down-draught and dropped straight into the bush'. Before leaving Nelson the passengers were strapped in their seats by either the pilot or Captain Mercer. When the crash occurred Miss Patterson said she found herself sitting on the ground, still in her seat. It seemed that the fuselage had fallen to pieces on striking the trees. The pilot, Flight Lieutenant Lewis appeared to have been thrown clear and was on his feet almost immediately. but he w'as very dazed. Perry had been hit on the chest and felt very ill, and she had advised him to rest. Captain Mercer was lying further up the hill and he was pinned by a leg with one of the seats. The pilot was able to free him, and he rolled down the hill to Miss Patterson’s feet. At the same time she noticed that tPe plane’s first aid kit was also alongside her and she was able to give Captain Mercer an injection of morphia. She would have liked to have dchie the same for Mrs. Russell, who was some distance aw'ay, but as neither of them was able to move, this was impossible, and she gave herself an injection. Captain Mercer- seemed to .sleep after this and the others sat down and rested. Until then nothing had been seen of Mr. Strathmore, who had apparently sustained head injuries, but he wag later heard moving round in the plane, and Miss Patterson said she was very concerned lest he would fall through on to one of the other of the injured. Finally, he did drop to the ground and rolled down the hillside to Mrs. Russell s feet. It was about 2 o’clock when the crash occurred, said Miss Patterson, and it was more than two hours later before Mr. Perry and the pilot were fit to attempt to walk back to the road, which they estimated to be about a mile and a half away. While Captain Mercer was conscious he and the pilot had attempted to work out their position in relation to Glenhope and the main Nelson-West Coast road. They could hear a creek quite close' to the plane and the men decided to follow this down. Miss Patterson (added 'that she was very? concerned that the men would lose themselves in the bush, because both were in. very bad shape. Mr. Strathmore left with the other two, but was unable to go very far, and he returned to the scene of the crash. He was very dazed and did not realise what he was doing and caused a great deal of pain to ’ the injured, who were unable to move when he stumbled about the hillside and fell over them. Finally, he settled down alongside Miss Patterson and slept until the rescue party, arrived. Rain started to fail early in the evening, continued Miss Patterson and continuel heavily throughout the night. Conditions were bitterly' cold, and the - rain seemed to be blowing right into their faces. There was no food or drink, and the hours dragged slowly by with hope of rescue in the immediate future seeming very slight. It was 1.30 o’clock on Saturday morning when the calls of the rescue party from Murchison were first heard. Girded by a series of calls from Mrs. Russell and Miss Patterson, they were able to locate the injured, but in the thick bush it was half an hour before they were able to reach them. The injured were given injections of morphia by Dr. Kurzwell, who accompanied the rescurers, and were warmed with drinks of hot coffee and cocoa. Little could be done for the injured'in the way of first aid. They were stranoed to stretchers, and the arduous journey to the road was commenced through the th’ck undergrowth and down the ro*ugh creek bed. The going was hard. dnd it was four hours before the party reached the road. Miss Patterson paid a

tribute to the work of the rescuers. She said that they were very lucky to have been brought out so quickly, as they were cold. None of them could have lived long if help had not arrived. Immediately before the crash the plane was climbing steeply and seemed to be making an effort of the task of clearing the range of mountains in front, said Mr. Bruce Perry. . The pilot apparently decided that he would not gain sufficient altitude and turned in a steep bank to go back on his course. Before this turn was completed the machine seemed to lose flying sueed. The nose went down and she dived into tne bush. Mr. Perry said he could lemember making some exclamation rs he realised something was wrong, but from that time until some two hours later his mind was a blank. Mr. Perry said the weather was fine but windy when the plane left Nelson, and it was some time before the light rain commenced to fall. Visibility continued quite good. The tops of some of the mountains were shrouded in mist, but the plane never entered this. The country where the crash occurred was very rugged back country, but he had never seen the ’bush as thick as in that locality, The plane was suspended in the big trees which covered the ridge, but the fuselage sagged down through the thick undergrowth almost to 'he ground. Apparently the nose had been smashed off and the passengers were thrown about 30ft down the hillside through this hole. After he regained consciousness at about four o’clock he had a discussion with the pilot about their position, and it was decided that two of them should try to find their wa v to the road. Darkness was falling in the bush when they started off at about five o’clock and the men found it necessary to stop and rest every two o,r three minutes. ~ Strathmore started .out with them, but, after walking a very short distance, he was forced to turn back. The pilot, who was in a very bad way, struggled on in the darkness for just on five hours, the last stages in pouring rain, but when onlv 200 yards short of the main Nelson-West Coast road he was unable to carry on. It was about 10 o’clock when he reached the road, said Ferry, and he haci only been walking for five or 10 minutes when he met a' truck driven by Arthur Hughes, of Nelson. Hughes took him on to Gowan Bridge and notified the police at Murchison and Nelson by 'phone of the whereabouts of the crashed plane. Accomnanied by Mr: P. Diserens. i Hughes returned to Kawatiri and located Flight Lieut. Lewis, having him .out on the roadside, when an ambulance from Murchison arrived with a rescue party. PLANE CRASHES IN SEA-

WELLINGTON, July. 1. The Royal New Zealand Air Force Air-Sea Rescue Service . was responsible for a prompt rescue yesterday when a Warhawk fighter aircraft made a’ crash landing in the sea about two miles offshore in the Hauraki Gulf. Pilot Officer J. S._ Gillam, Hawke’s Bay,- who was the pilot, was not injured, and was picked up by a Walrus amphibian aircraft. Pilot Officer Gillam was flying in company with another Warhawk when the accident occurred. The pilot of. the second aircraft radioed for assistance. Gillam decided to swim for the shore, but was forced to give up the idea because of a strong offshore current and the extreme cold. He returned to the aircraft, the tail of which was nrotruding above the water. The Walrus arrived overhead about noon, being guided by the oil slick A landing was made nearby on the deceptively glassy water and Pilot Gillam was taken aboard, numbed with the cold after spending an 'hour half submerged in the water. He was provider l with a change of clothing. each of lhe crew contributing some article of annarel, and he was landed at Hobsonv’He 95 minutes after the Walri.is took off on the search. A towboat and barge were desnatched by the Royal New Zealand Air Force Marine section to salvage the aircraft.