AEROPLANE FATALITY

Manawatu Standard, Volume LVII, Issue 156, 3 June 1937, Page 10

AEROPLANE FATALITY

DETAILS OF THE CRASH. VISIBILITY WAS POOR. Per Press Association. STRATFORD, June 2. Further details of the crash of the Wellington Aero Club’s Miles-Hawk ’plane on a farm property near Stratford, show that when first seen by farmers the aeroplane was flying low, seeking an opening in the low, driving mist against a 25-mile-an-hour wind, and the crash occurred when the pilot was circling, apparently to return to the south. The machine narrowly missed the power lines and the right wheel struck a sloping hillside, the right wing crashing into the ground. Eyewitnesses said that the aeroplane bounced into the air and, with the pilot endeavouring to regain control, it staggered along for nearly a quarter of a mile, when it “pancaked heavily on the top of another undulating ridge. The engine was at this stage wrenched from the aeroplane and the fuselage and wings crumpled into a mass of wreckage which rolled into a shallow gully. • Mr John Davidson saw the machine strike the ground on both occasions from half a mile away. He drove furiously «n his gig across the paddock and arrived at the scene simultaneously with others from neighbouring farms, who had been attracted by the aeroplane’s low circling in the mist and had realised that a crash was imminent.

Mr Nathan was lying by the side of the splintered cockpit, it being obvious that he was killed instantly in the final crash. Mr Dunford was conscious, but lie was in a bad way when helped from the cockpit, said Mr Davidson. “He kept inquiring about his passenger. He told us he had intended to land at New Plymouth so that Mr Nathan could telephone his wife at Wellington that he had got through safely. He told ua his name and asked that we communicate with Mr H. E. Pacey in Wellington.” Witnesses of the crash all said it appeared that the plane was attempting to land. It was thought that the machine was running short of petrol. The terrain in the vicinity affords no reasonably safe landing place for such a fast machine, and Stratford pilots who inspected the scene presumed that the machine had been forced down by the very low ceiling. The country nearby is undulating with low ridges and shallow gullies, and the pilot was unfortunate to touch the hillside while attempting to clear the top of a 50ft. slope.

LITTLE LEFT FOR SALVAGE. Portions of fabric and woodwork were scattered, and nothing is worth salvage .for reconstruction of the machine except the engine, which is that of the machine flown in the Centenary Air Race by Messrs McGregor and Walker. The machine was of unusual interest to the people of the district in which tho crash occurred, as it made the first official landing at the new Stratford aerodrome, five miles from the scene of the tragedy, at the beginning of May. It was piloted on that .occasion by Mr Walker, with Mr E. A. Gibson, Public Works aerodrome engineer, as a passenger. It visited Stratford again at the opening pageant on Coronation Day, piloted by Mr Eric Lloyd. Mrs Davidson telephoned to a Stratford doctor without delay', and Mr Dunford was given first aid treatment while waiting for the ambulance. He was then rushed to the Stratford Public Hospital, where an operation was performed. An inquiry at the Stratford Hospital at 1.30 p.ni. revealed that Mr Dunford’s condition was quite. satisfactory. THE LATE AIR. NATHAN. The late Mr Philip Joseph Nathan was born in Wellington 68 years ago, and was a son of Air J. E. Nathan, founder of the firm of Joseph Nathan and Co., Ltd. He was educated at Wellington College. He was a director of Joseph Nathan and Co., with which firm he had spent all his business life. He was also a director of the British Sheet Marketing Company. The late Mr Nathan was a prominent member of the Wellington Jewish Congregation and for a number of years took an active part in administering to the welfare of the community. He was a past president of the congregation. In his younger days Mr. Nathan was • a fine all-round athlete, being known as a sprinter, boxer, and weight-lifter, and as” an enthusiastic exponent of physical culture generally. He'was one of the leading polo players in Wellington when that game was at its height, and it was while at a polo gymkhana at Miramar that he performed a deed that brought him a medal for bravery. A child fell in front of a galloping polo pony, and Mr Nathan quickly threw himself over the child and saved it from harm. He was a member of the Wellington Club and the Wellington Commercial Travellers’ Association. He married Miss Jennie Arndt, a sister of Mrs R. Davis, of Palmerston North. There are no children. Brothers who survive him are Air Alec Nathan, chairman of directors of Joseph Nathan and Co.. Ltd., and Mr AI. J. Nathan, both of London ; Air F. J. Nathan, of Palmerston North; and Air C. J. Nathan, of Auckland. AIR CHARLES C. DUNFORD. Air Charles C. Dunford, who is about 27 years of age, is an employee of Messrs Joseph Nathan and Co., Ltd., and has worked in Wellington for about 10 years." He has frequently travelled by air to conduct business for the firm. He was educated at Hamilton High School, and is the son of Air and Mrs C. H. Dunford, Hamilton, who are at present on holiday in Australia. He is a well-known pilot member of the Wellington Aero Club, holds an “A” endorsed license, and has considerable flying experience to his credit.