LOST FLIER'S ORDEAL

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22612, 28 December 1936, Page 12

LOST FLIER'S ORDEAL

CRASH IN_ RANGES TBAPPEI) BY LEGS 31 HOURS OF SUFFERING .TORMENT FROM THIRST [fbom our own correspondent] MELBOURNE, Deo. 10 A story of fortitude is revealed in tho experience of Pilot-Officer Eric Vernon Read, pilot of the acroplano which disappeared whilo making a weather observation flight. He was found, trapped in the cockpit of his wrecked machine, in the Brisbane Ranges, 50 miles from Melbourne. He had a compound fracture of both legs, a fractured jaw, a fractured nose, and a fractured ankle. All his front t«N?th were broken and his left hand was, severely crushed. The airman had been sitting in agony, unable to move, for 31 hours. Except for the first 20 minutes after the' crash he was conscious the whole time, and in addition to the pain he suffered torment from thirst and mosquitoes. Ha is now progressing favourably. Women Among Helpers The wrecked machine was sighted on top of a ridge in the ranges by PilotOfficer J. McDonald, who was flying a Royal Australian Air Force search aeroplane. Pilot-Officer Read was rescued by a party of farmers. He was carried on an improvised stretcher for four miles through almost impenetrable country to an ambulance. Two women were among those who forced their way through tho dense undergrowth to assist him. Pilot-Officer Read told his rescuers a graphic story. W hen ho left the Laverton Air Force station on Monday morning at 8.15 he was instructed to liy north, east, and west, for five minutes in each direction, at 16,000 ft. His aeroplane entered heavy clouds a few hundred feet from the ground, and ho lost his bearings. Ho flow blind for 45 minutes, and then came down low in an attempt to pick up a landmark. Crash Into Trees • The first object ho saw was a tree, which was struck by the wheels of his machine. He had throttled down, but he opened the throttle again and zoomed ovef the tree. Ho rose but came down again" in another effort to find a landmark. He came out of the. clouds about 30ft. from the ground, and had no chance this time of avoiding a crash. He thought that he had crashed in tho Dandenong Ranges, and did not know where he was until his rescuers told him.

While he was being carried in the stretcher the airman described his crash through the trees. " I went straight into them, and I carved a path 50 yards in length," he said. " The wings were torn off and the plane hit a hu2;e tree. I hit the ground at 120 miles an hour. I remembered no more until 20 minutes later. That was at 9.12 a.m. bv my watch. I must havo crashed about 8.50 a.m."

Few Drops of Rainwater The aeroplane struck a, tree, which snapped off near the butt. This apparently swung the nose of the machine away from the hillside, and tilted the aeroplane on to its side, thus preventing it from crashing head on. The tree probably saved Pilot-Officer Read s life. " When I regained consciousness I could not move," he said. " My legs ■were caught in the wreckage. I did not realise for a time that they wore broken, and tried to struggle free. Hours of waiting made me very thirsty, and the mosquitoes were devilish. I fixed a piece of twisted metal on ti piece of stick and scooped some water which had gathered in dents in the fabric on one of the broken wings after rain. I could not get much, and had to depend on the few drips which remained on the improvised ladle. It was hard work. The waiting for some one to come, and not knowing whether or not they would, was the worst feeling of all." The airman's legs were trapped in the wreckage, and becauso they were both badly broken the rescuers could no.t get him free without further injuring him. I hey coo-eed to other members of the search parties that they had found the aeroplane, and asked them to let the base camp, established at the foot of the hills, know where they were, and to bring first aid and other supplies. Half an hour later these were brought by Pilot-Officei Wiley. f Messages on Fuselage Earlier, Pilot-Officer Wiley had flown o- er the wrecked machine in a Demon. He went back to Laverton, obtained a Moth machine, returned, and landed at the foot of the hills. He then walked up the mountain. He released Read by cutting through the metal and wood of the fuselage surrounding the cockpit with a hacksaw. Bushmen improvised a stretcher with saplings and their overcoats. Mrs. Alex Kerr, of Bacchus Marsh, and Mrs. S. Bird, of Ballianga, arrived about the tame time as Pilot-Officer Wiley with milk, water, bandages and whisky. Pilot-Officer Read scratched several messages on the xylonite log pad attached to his knee and 011 the fuselage, using a piece of metal from the wreckage as a pencil. The first message was "Crashed 0910 . . . This message concluded with indecipherable markings. Other messages were: — "Heard Demons too far away to see me. -0.45 (apparently Tuesday morning). Tried to get out of cockpit. Pretty hard, both legs broken. Goodoh." "Still alive 1700 (5 p.m. Monday), had lousy night, heard Demons 13135 .(1.35 p.m.)." Battle Through Undergrowth The first men to arrive at the wrecked plane were three farmers and a boy from Ballianga. They were Mel and Bill Vanstan. Henry Saunders and Ray Graves. They had followed compass bearings on a line given by one. of the search aeroplanes, which hovered for a few minutes over Read. When they reached a ridge about three miles from the foot of the ranges, they cooeed, and received a faint answer. They battled their way through the undergrowth in the direction from which the cry had sounded, and on the top of another ridgo they caught their first glimpse of the aeroplane. The undergrowth was so thick that they were within 30yds. of it before th<sy saw it..

Tho airman was lying in the cockpit of tho machine, which was on its side. The upper portion of his body was hanging over tho side. His first words to his rescuers were, "I'm 0.K., but get me out of this. 1 want a drink of water." The party was not carrying water, as they did not expect to find tho pilot alive. They screwed the top from one of the wrecked instruments, however, and with this scooped some rain water from a dent in the fuselage and poured it into his mouth. The two women had forced their way, unassisted, through three miles of the roughest country in Victoria. It is a series of deep ravines and sharp ridges, heavily covered with a thick undergrowth of dried creepers, which tore their hands and faces.

Through this country for four miles the injured man had to bo carried to receive medical attention. The bandages brought by the women were used to bind his legs and arms. After he had been made as comfortable as possible he was placed on the stretcher and the long trek began. The rescue party was split up into two sections of six men each. While one section took care of the stretcher, the other party cleared a path through tho undergrowth for the first three miles with their bare hands, which were severely lacerated.

Although he was conscious all the time and was suffering great agony as tXe stretcher-bearers slipped and staggered down tho ravines, he did not utter one cry of pain. He talked with his bearers cheerfully, while Mrs. Bird and Mrs. Kerr ga\e him drinks and kept his head cool with wet cloths. I he two women attended to him without a moment's respite throughout the whole journey, which lasted for two and a-half hours.

When within a mile of the base camp the Air Force doctor, Flight-Lieutenant Green, and three medical orderlies met the party, and Flight-Lieutenant Green rendered further medical aid. 1 lie orderlies had brought an axe. which was used to clear the path for the stretcher. The airman arrived at the base camp about 6.30 p.m. His legs were then set and put in splints by Flight-Lieutenant Green, and his broken jaw and other injuries wore attended to before he was placed in the Air Force ambulance. The ambulance took two hours to travel tho 15 miles to Bacchus Marsh, travelling through the paddocks. It then took the patient to the Caulfield Military Hospital, where it arrived about 10 p.m.