AEROPLANE WRECKED.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20978, 15 September 1931, Page 8

AEROPLANE WRECKED.

CRASH AT ROTORUA. ESCAPE OF OCCUPANTS. CAUGHT IN AIR POCKET. PILOT JUST MISSES HOUSE. [BY TELEGRAPH.— OWN CORRESPONDENT.] ROTORUA, Monday. Trapped in an air pocket as he was taking off in a threc-seater monoplane from the Rotorua aerodrome this afternoon, Captain R. R. Money, of Hamilton, who last season was pilot instructor to the Rotorua Aero Club, crashed with two passengers in a ploughed section beside a house opposite the aerodrome. The machine fell only 10yds. from a room in which a small child was sleeping. Captain Money had with him Messrs J. Fortuno and W. G. Satchell, of Rotorua. All three escaped without injury. The aeroplane was wrecked completely. It had to bo dismantled before the damaged parts could be removed. Captain Money stated that owing to the heavy surface of the usual runway he had to take off on a rather shorter run than usual. The machine had just cleared the telegraph wires at the side of the Whakarcwarewa Road when it struck the air pocket and became unmanageable. Realising the danger of striking the house Captain Money succeeded in making a half turn, but the tail of the machine struck a tree. The aeroplane crashed and buried its nose and propeller in somo dug ground of a potato patch beside the house. The noise of the crash brought out the occupants of the house, Mrs. L. F. Mansfield, and a visitor who was with her. They were just in time to see Captain Money and his two passengers crawling out of the wreckage unhurt. The machine was a three-seater de Soutter cabin monoplane and was privately owned by Captain Money. A honeymoon trip by air from Hamilton to Rotorua bad been made prior to the accident by a Hamilton couple, Mr. and Mrs. James Hunter, who were married at St. Coluraba's Catholic Church, Frankton, this morning. Captain Money occupied the pilot's seat. The machine left for Rotorua at about 1 p.m. I" spite of rather unfavourable weather condition? the flight was made in good time, Rotorua being reached 35 minutes later. TELEGEAPH WIRE STRUCK. MISHAP AT NORTH TAIERI. [BY TELEGRAPH. —PBESS ASSOCIATION.] DUNEDJISii Monday. While landing in one of the club's Moth machines at the North Taieri aerodrome to-day Mr. A. R. Burbidge, ground engineer to the Otago Aero Club, struck one of the telegraph wires on the road boundary on the western side of the landing ground. The aeroplane crashed to the ground. Mr. Burbidge suffered slight abrasions to the head. Somo damage was done to a wing of the aeroplane, the fabric of which was torn. The framework was slightly smashed. FORCED LANDING MADE. DAMAGE TO ONE WING. [BY TELEGRAPH. —rRESS ASSOCIATION.] STRATFORD, Monday. An aeroplane piloted by Mr. S. Green, with Mr. J. Pankhurst as passenger, while flying from Wanganui to New Plymouth, was compelled to make a landing at Stratford yesterday. When the machine was over the town a heavy wind and thick fog were encountered. The aeroplane de-' veloped a spin when an endeavour was made to climb above the fog. After flying over several open spaces, Mr. Green landed in a paddock at the demonstration farm, having to "slip in" on account of power lines. Before the aeroplane could be brought to a standstill after touching the ground it struck soft, uneven ground and stood on its nose. The propeller and engine were not damaged, but part of the under-carriage was forced up through the fuselage and one wing was damaged. The occupants were unhurt and the machine was later removed to the New Plymouth aerodrome by motor-lorry.