PLANE TRAGEDY

King Country Chronicle, Volume XXX, Issue 4844, 12 May 1936, Page 2

PLANE TRAGEDY

DOCTOR KILLED AND WIFE INJURED. MARRIED ONLY SEVEN WEEKS. Sydney, April 29. Dr. Hillis Kyle Houston, of Scone (N.S.W.), a bridegroom of only 7 weeks, was killed, and his wife was critically injured on Sunday when their Gipsy Moth plane dropped like a stone from 500 feet nose first into the ground, in a paddock which they used as a landing field near their home. Dr. and Mi’s. Houston had been on a week-end visit to Mrs. Houston's parents in Sydney when the accident occurred. Aviation experts believe that the machine lost flying speed as it was banking, preparatory to landing, and that there was insufficient height for Dr. Hous-

ton to regain control, as the plane fell in a spin. Dr. W. 0. Pye, also of Scone, who with Dr. Houston owned the plane, was driving out from the town to meet his friends and arrived a few minutes after the crash. “We bought the machine a month ago,” said Dr. Pye. “Flying ,was our hobby, but we had intended later on using the plane if required for medical cases. Dr. Houston had some hundreds of flying hours to his credit, and held an A class certificate. He was a triple blue of Sydney University, and learnt to fly with the London Aero Club while he was doing a post-graduate course in England. He was selected by the London Club as its representative in the LondonBristol annual air race, and finished fifth. He was a safe pilot who never took unnecessary risks. The plane was a rebuilt Moth and was perfectly airworthy.”

The owner of the property’ where Dr. Houston was preparing to land and three other men saw the crash. “When we heard the plane coming we went out to the field,” he said. “She was flying’ at about 2000 feet, but was circling and coming down to land. Suddenly, when about 5 feet up she dropped like a stone. We ran across the field and dragged the doctor and his wife from the wreck. The first thing I thought about was fire. When we got them out both were unconscious. The machine was badly smashed, the engine being twisted sideways and partly forced into the front cockpit.” Before her marriage on March 3, Mrs. Houston was Miss Tempe Datson, daughter of the late Mr. W. H. Datson and Mrs. Datson, of Double Bay. The wedding caused considerable interest for although the engagement was announced late last year the wedding date was not an-

nounced until a few weeks before the wedding. Mrs. Houston was a very well known Sydney girl. A former student of Sydney Girls’ High School, where, after she graduated at the University of Sydney, she became an assistant Latin teacher. She has always been a prominent figure in sport, being a keen tennis player and a hockey blue. She represented the university in the inter-university matches. During last year she spent six months abroad. An operation was performed on Mrs. Houston on the following day, and it was hoped to save her life. She suffered injuries to a lung, broken ribs, a broken ankle, and head lacei’ations. Saved By Parachute. Aircraftsman Leslie Redford Clisby, of the Royal Australian Air Force, was more fortunate when the

plane he was piloting, a Moth, on a training - flight got into a spin. He was at 3000 ft when the right elevator control appeared to jam. The nose of the machine was down, and Clisby was unable to come out of the dive. For a few seconds he fought the controls in an effort to bring the machine out of the dive, but he realised it was hopeless and decided to jump. The plane had already lost 1000 feet, and was rapidly gaining speed, and to remain in the cockpit would have meant a terrible death. Clisby released his safety belt and jumped. He fell rapidly, turning over and over in the air. When he' was well clear of the Moth he pulled the rip cord of his parachute and descended safely in a ploughed paddock. A dairy farmer watched Clisby descending and ran to assist him. Clisby’s only remark when the farmer reached him was, “What a sensation!”

The Moth continued its nose dive, flattened out for a moment, and then crashed into an open paddock . The nose of the plane was buried 2ft. into the ground. It was smashed almost into fragments. Clisby’s remarkable escape has made him eligible for membership of the “Caterpillar Club.” The only members of this exclusive organisation, which was founded in America, are aviators whose lives have been saved by parachute jumps. Its name arises from the fact that the parachutes are always made of silk. The only other Australian who has qualied for membership is Flight-Lieuten-ant A. V. Rae, who jumped from a Bristol Bulldog fighter at Point Cook three years ago, when the plane collapsed while Rae was practising acrobatics. The most famous member of the Club is Colonel Charles Lindbergh, whose life has been saved three times by parachute.