’PLANE CATCHES FIRE

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXI, 6 August 1928, Page 5

’PLANE CATCHES FIRE

A TERRIBLE EXPERIENCE COURTNEY AND COMPANIONS United Press Association—By Electric Telegraph—Copyright. United Service. ’ LONDON, 3rd August.. A copyright message gives Captain Courtney’s own story aboard the Minnewaska. He states: “The ’plane caught fire and nearly tragically ended the flight. I decided after leaving Horta on Ist August to fly a southerly course in order to put headwinds abeam as we finished the trip, expecting to arrive at Newfoundland in seventeen hours. After flying three hours the moon rose. The crew were comfortably stowed. Hugh Gilmour ,tlie wireless operator, ascertained from steamers that the direction of the wind differed from the forecast. We ran into a blinding rainstorm and hit many ferocious bumps, though the engines were running admirably, the carburation was perfect, and the instruments accurate. The rain stopped, but we were still flying blind at 1800, feet. We climbed to inspect upper side clouds at 3500 feet. This was too high to encounter adverse winds. We descended below clouds at 1000 feet. It was too dark*to see the water. The clouds broke at 2.15 in the morning and we glimpsed the moon and climbed to 1500 feet.

“I was discussing the engines with the mechanic, Fred Pierce, when I saw the most horrible sight of my flying career. The exhaust flame behind suddenly changed to a dull red glow. I was stunned to see the rear engine enveloped in flames stretching out like a giant blowlamp rearwards over Elwood Hosmers seat and beyond the rudder tail. The machine in. the darkness must have resembled a grotesque red comet. The situation seemed a nightmare. It did not occur to me that we could reaeh the water before the tail burned. My subsequent actions merely blindly followed piloting instinct, which possibly saved ns. PETROL TURNED OFF

“Pierce rushed into the engineroom and turned off the petrol. Three seconds later it -would have been too,late. I cut off all switches, threw the machine into a headlong dive through the blackness with the vague idea. of burning up the escaped petrol if Pierce should have failed to turn off the cocks. The dive shot Gilmour frpm his seat. As I drew out* of 1 the dive with the burning,seaplane overloaded one ton, I saw the glow ‘reflected on the wave crests and managed to put the machine on one crest and ran down a bill, of water and up the next, just preventing the seaplane shooting into the air off the crest. The machine after several jolts came to rest witliobt damage. “Pierce during the descent amazingly succeeded in turning off the cocks and applying the fire extinguisher. inside the engineroom, greatly diminishing the flames, the remainder of which, instead of streamihg out behind, burned directly over the opening in the hull containing GOO gallons of petrol. m The fire extinguisher was exhausted. The flames burned fiercely for a quarter of an hour while we four stood awaiting the final explosion which never came. “When the flames subsided we erected boat hooks to support the emergency: wireless. Gilmour sent S.O.S. calls, hut received no reply. We decided to ionserve the batteries by awaiting daybreak. When the engineroom cooled we Found the petrol pipe had broken, causing the petrol under pressure to be forced against the engine near the exhaust. If the machine had not been metal it would not have survived five minutes. • S.O.S. CALLS ANSWERED “Gilmour resumed S.O.S. calls at daybreak. The steamer Cedric answered, and I checbed the position, but by the time an accurate estimate was sent we had drifted 30 miles. The batteries gradually ran out as the liner searched. We knew the position was serious and put the last power into directional signals to the Minnowaska. We tried smoke signals, and nearly re-ignited the machine. We waited dejectedly, seasick owing to. the continual rolling. Gilmour announced casually “ship sighted.” I called him a liar, and looked and saw the finest sight I have ever seen—the Minnewaska steaming towards us. ■ “I have failed again to fly across tlic Atlantic, but am not disheartened, as failure proved my point better than success. I have always insisted.Aliat a seaworthy machine and efficient wireless are essential to successful ocean flights. These principles saved our lives in'about as had a situation as aviators ever were in.”