STORY OF FLIGHT.

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLIX, Issue 151, 28 May 1929, Page 7

STORY OF FLIGHT.

BIMA TO CAPE DON.

ENGINE WORKED SPASMODICALLY.

OWEN HURT WHEN ’PLANE LANDED.

(United Press Association. —By Electric Telegraph.—Copyright.)

Received May 28, 9.25 a.m

SYDNEY, MAY 28

In a message from the lighthouse steamer Kyogle, ElightLieutenant Moir briefly tells the story of the flight from Bima to Cape Don.

“All went well until about 160 miles from Darwin, when a slight roughness in the engine became evident.

“Later the engine started to miss badly. We had lifebelts on, and as we were losing height badly were prepared for the worst and ready to chop the tanka adrift immediately we hit the water. Owen had an axe and tools ready to make a raft. We thought we could at least survive for several days, as we had plenty of rations.

“The engine was running spasmodically and just gave enough power for us to keep in the air. After an hour struggling in this manner we sighted Cape Doq. As it was impossible to last much longer we headed for the lighthouse. Owen fired Verey lights. The staff at the lighthouse realised our predicament and lighted several fires. These cheered us, as we knew the men would come to our assistance if we did alight in the water.

“Little did we know that they did not even have a canoe, and that the waters were infested with sharks and crocodiles. With the aid of fires we picked out a small clearing, shut off the petrol and ‘pancaked’ the machine into a clearing.

“We were both thrown clear of the machine into a crop of small mangrove stumps. Owen was hurt internally and was unable to move. The lighthouse people rendered every assistance possible.

“The fact that we did not reach Darwin was a terrible disappointment to us.”

The Kyogle is expected at Darwin early in the morning Pilot Brain is standing by in case urgent assistance is needed He will fly Moir and Owen to Brisbane if required.

GRATITUDE TO PILOT BRAIN. FUND BEING RAISED. '' MOIR’S FAMILY HAPPY. SYDNEY, May 27. The one topic of conversation in Australia to-day • is the discovery of the missing aviators, Flight-Lieutenant Moir and Flying Officer Owen and Pilot Brain’s uncany instinct of knowing just where to look when engaged in missions such as these. Pilot Brain expressed the opinion last wek, when in Sydney, that he was confident that the airmen had crossed the Timor Sea and were marooned on some remote spot on the Australian coast. A fund is now being raised to enable the public to express their pride and gratitude to Pilot Brain. Advice has been received that the lighthouse steamer Kyogle has already arrived at Cape Don, and the rescued aviators were due to leave on board her for Darwin at noon to-day. The Kyogle has sent a radio message stating that Flying Officer Owen is suffering from internal injuries. The aeroplane is wrecked, but the engine will be salvaged. Mrs Moir and her daughter declared to-day: “We are the happiest family in the world now that Jim has been found alive and well. We had a feeling that both he and Flying-Officer Owen were safe. We never lost our faith in the efforts of the gallant men who went to search for them.”

Naval officers who visited the lighthouse at Capo Don agree that the climate there is of the worst, pestered as it is with all kinds of insects. The families grow all their own vegetables, but lead extremely lonely lives.'

WIRELESS FOR LIGHTHOUSES. Commenting upon the desirability of equipping lighthouses with wireless, Customs officers state that the cost is prohibitive, as the lighthouso-keepers do not possess the requisite technical knowledge to keep them in order, and it would require trained men at each of the 63 main lights; aggregating £30,000 a year for salaries. LESSON FROM ADVENTURE. LONDON TIMES’S COMMENT. (Times Cables). LONDON, May 26. The Times states: “The grave ahxiety for Flight-Lieutenant Moir and Flying Officer Owen has been happily dispelled. The only clear lesson from the adventure is the old lesson that machines -for long adventurous flights should carry wireless. They should also be provisioned and equipped to meet emergencies. That lesson was terribly taught by the story of the Southern Cross and tragically told by tho story of the Kookaburra. Wireless also appears indispensable for lighthouses such as that at Cape Don.”