MISSING PLANE FOUND ABOVE THE SNOWLINE ON MOUNT RUAPEHU

Grey River Argus, 30 October 1948, Page 5

MISSING PLANE FOUND ABOVE THE SNOWLINE ON MOUNT RUAPEHU

NO HOPE OF SURVIVORS

(Per Press Association). OHAKUNE, October 29.

The wreckage of the airliner “Kaka” was found this morning on Mount Ruapehu. From the air there is stated to be nothing visible of the plane except the tail assembly and a large section of the wing.

The wreckage is in heavy snow, at about 7,000 feet, and from its position it seems that the liner must have struck an outcrop at the head of the ravine above the Cascade Falls on the western; slope of the mountain.

sce ne of the crash was one ™ om Lake Surprise, which is up the Maugaturuturu stream, above the Cascade Falls. The location given by the spotting planes is on a ridge between two! streams and between Lake Surprise and the summit at about the 7500 ft level. Wing Commander Kean, chief investigator of air accidents, flew over the scene late this morning, and located the scene on maps for a ground party which was organised at Ratetihi. No sign of fire could be seen. The wreckage was discovered at 8.40 a.m. and as a result a R.N.Z.A.F. Auster was despatched from Karioi for a closer search. The pilot of the Auster machine reported that the aircraft is completely wrecked and the only recognisable part is the twin-tail. An eye-witness said the wreck was clearly visible in the middle of a steep ravine below the summit. It was thought that during the past few days heavy snowfalls had covered the debris from previous searchers. NO SURVIVORS

There had been heavy snowfalls on the mountain since Saturday, and the snow obscured the wreckage from the air search, and it would also preclude the possibility of there being any survivors from the thirteen passengers and crew aboard.

LOCATION OF WRECK The actual location of the wreck is below the ridge between the Manganuiateao and Maungaturuturu streams, about 2000 feet from the. head of the Maungaturuturu Glacier. The wreck is visible to the naked eye, as a small speck on the snow, from Ohakune and Raetihi. THE SIGHTING FORESHADOWED It was first sighted this morning at 8.40 from a Dakota aircraft, which was following a line of search indicated by Constables Beaton (Raetihi) and Gardiner (Ohakune) and Mr Tom Shout (warden of National Park), who have steadily maintained, since Saturday, after checking the local early reports, that the plane would be found in that position. Their observations were based on reports from three railwaymen stationed at Rangataua; from residents of Pipiriki Road, near Raetihi, who reported that the plane was on time and was following the usual course; and from deerstalkers in the Maungaturuturu Valley. who, on Sunday, stated that they had heard a plane at the head of the valley and had heard its engines stop suddenly.

HIDDEN BY SNOW AND CLOUD The weather from Saturday to Wednesday throughout the district, and on the mountain, has been extremely bad, with the cloud down to 4000 feet. This cloud lifted at midday on Wednesday, but the heavy snow must have covered the plane, as searching aircraft have flown over the mountain night and morning on their way to and from other areas.

Struck a Bluff While Flying North

WELLINGTON, October 29

The Kaka appeared to have struck the side of a bluff above Lake Success while flying in a northerly direction, according to a pilot who came from Ohakea and flew over the scene of the crash this morning. It appeared that the plane hit an outcrop in the ravine, at the bottom of which rested the portion of a wing and the rear of the fuselage, while higher up the slope there were fragments of the plane. The crash on Saturday was followed by a ( fall of a foot and a-half of snow on Ruapehu the same evening, since when the mountain had remained hidden by cloud until to-day, when snow that earlier had extended down to the line of vegetation was melted.

It is conjectured that the time of the crash was on Saturday shortly after the railway servicemen, Messrs McGrath, Fitzgerald and Reynolds, heard the plane over Rangatana, near Ohakune, which is west of Ruapehu.