Crew Of Crashed N.Z. Plane Home Again

Northern Advocate, 6 January 1948, Page 2

Crew Of Crashed N.Z. Plane Home Again

AUCKLAND Tue. (Sp.).—The crew of the Dakota of No. 41 (Transport) Squadron which made a forced landing on the coast of Luzon Philippines, returned last night by a relief plane. None of the five members of the crew or the seven passengers on the crashed aircraft was seriously injured and all 12 of them, in addition to the five members of the crew of the relief plane, arrived yesterday. Squadron Leader R. Thornton engineering officer at Hobsonville and Sister D. Griffin, of Whenuapai, who made the trip to Manila with the relief plane also returned. SHEET OF FLAME “We had taken off from Naha on Okinawa, on December 19, and were flying at 12,000 ft on a course for Clark Field, Manila, when suddenly the port engine appeared to explode in a sheet of flame," said Flying Officer Burch, who commanded the crashed aircraft. “We were then off the coast of Luzon, and I was hopeful of reaching Clark Field, Manila, in the few hours of daylight left. “Because of bad weather I had to reduce height, and after about two and a half hours the starboard engine began to falter. It was then about dusk.

“We had to jettison the blue uniforms we had packed away after leav. ing Okinawa, the Christmas presents we had bought in Japan, and a quantity of mail. “I decided to make a precautionary landing and found an area of grassland fringed by high mountains about two miles from the coast near Dilalongan. “Flight Lieutenant Heath kept sending out SOS signals giving our position. R&N INTO DITCH “I switched on the landing lights and keeping the wheels up. touched down safely, but towards the end of the run we struck a ditch, and from the resultant jolt the three men were injured. “About ten minutes after we landed some Filipinos approached and later brought us eggs and water. “About 3 o’clock next mornihg an American Flying Fortress flew overhead and dropped flares and we communicated with it by Aldis lamp. “Two sentinel army cooperation planes bringing a doctor landed beside us at dawn and later in the morning we made our way to the coast, the injured being carried on stretchers by native bearers. “We were taken in rubber dinghies out to a Catalina flying-boat and flown to Clark Field.”