MISSING PLANE.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LX, Issue 267, 9 October 1940, Page 6

MISSING PLANE.

EXTENSIVE SEARCH

PREMIER’S STATEMENT,

WELLINGTON, Oct. 9. “Aircraft from New Plymouth are still searching the areas-, irom which new reports have been received, the Prime Minister (Rt. Hon. P. Fraser) said When discussing in the House of Representatives, last night, the steps taken in the endeavour to locate the Airspeed Oxford, with a crew of three, which went missing early last week on a flight from. Hobsonville 1 to Ohakea. The announcement was officially made at the week-end that the air search had been abandoned on Saturdav. ■ In an urgent question Mr W. <JPoison (Opposition, Stratford) asked whether any search had been made or bush areas farther inland. He asked the Minister of Defence to undertake an adequate search in the vicinity ox the "Wanganui River and its tributaries, if such a search had not been made. Settlers had represented, to him that several living at various points on the inland route from the coast to the Main Trunk railway heard, and in two cases actually saw, an aeroplane flying inland about t'he time the accident occurred. If that was so, the machine must have crashed far from the spot where the search was reported to have been undertaken. “All reports received by the Police or the Air Dpartment have been thoroughly investigated and ground parties have been organised whenever there 'lias been any possibility of the reports proving authentic,” replied Mr Fraser on behalf of the Minister of Defence“Many of the reports are conflicting and may refer to the second aircraft which accompanied the missing Oxford as far as Tongaporutu and then turned back to Auckland.” Giving details of the air search, Mr Fraser said the entire coast had been covered up to a distance of 20 miles out to sea from the Manawatu River to Albatross Point. The inland area thoroughly searched several times was bounded by Albatross Point, across to Pio Pio and south through Ohura to Pipiriki, then across to Waiouru, down the Manawatu and across to the mouth of the Turalrina River. A very intensive search in the vicinity of the Wang’anui River and its tributaries had been made. The Mount Messenger area was also searched, and the Rualiines had been searched from Palmerston North to as far north as Makaretu. SLENDER CLUE.

A slender clue as to the probable v'hereabouts of the Royal New Zealand Air Force Oxford bomber which has been missing since October 2 is provided by reports that smoke has been seen rising from Mount Ararat, in difficult country, north-east of Mr D. R. Mcßean’s homestead on Moki Road, inland from Uruti, 32 miles north-east from New Plymouth. Mrs Mcßean first saw the smoke two "days after the aircraft passed over her home, and she has observed it several times since then, states a Taranaki report. Though the clue may only be a slender one, evideuce confirms the belief that the missing aeroplane circled over the district in its attempt to reach Ohakea from Hobsonville.