AIRMAN IN A WATERSPOUT.

King Country Chronicle, Volume XII, Issue 1155, 31 December 1918, Page 5

AIRMAN IN A WATERSPOUT.

A REMARKABLE EXPERIENCE. A pilot of the Royal Air Force, describing the remarkable experience of flying through a waterspout in England writes:— "Going down into a sea of clouds I noticed that it was very bumpy and gusty, and when I came through I found myself right over the camp. But what a mess! The place was having the biggest drenching of its life. In fact it was a cloud-burst, and my machine was pitched about like a slip in a rough sea. "I saw ahead of me through 'the water on my goggles and the mist of rain what appeared to be a 'whisk' of cloud about two or three feet thick, and never bothered any more until I bit it. What I thought was a whisk of cloud was a more or less solid column of water rushing down and surrounded by a whirlpool of air. It was a waterspout, they told me afterwards. "My machine just went spiniing over and around any old sort of way. All I could da was to cling and wait. Water, sand, and engine oil seemed to be concentrating around me, and I felt quite alarmed. After what seemed to be hours I found myself clear and in a more or lobs natural position close to the ground. So, after circling around to collect myself, I landed. The place was flooded Bnd everyone under cover."