AEROPLANES CRASH

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21268, 24 February 1931, Page 8

AEROPLANES CRASH

A DOUBLE MISHAP. OCCUPANTS ESCAPE INJURY. ONE MACHINE BADLY" DAMAGED. (Pee United Press Association.) TIMARU, February 23. Two New Zealand Government aeroplanes, one the Derby winner at the Dunedin Aero Club’s pageant on Saturday, and the other piloted by Wing-com-mander Grant-Dalton, Director of Air Services, crashed owing to atmospheric conditions near “ Silverton,” the homestead of Mr J. M. H. Tripp, 14 miles from Geraldine, shortly after 10 o’clock this morning. Fortunately, the four occupants escaped with a severe shaking. Both planes were returning from the Otago Aero Club’s pageant, where one, a wooden Moth, had been successful in winning the club’s Derby. The derby winner was pjiloted by Flight-sergeant Simpson, who had a passenger, Flight-sergeant L. A. C. Dini. The second plane, a metal Moth, was under the control of W'mgcommander Grant-Dalton and also carried a passenger.

Although the actual cause of the mishap is unknown, it appears that the atmospheric conditions were particularly bad. Air pockets gave trouble, and without a moment’s notice the planes crashed almost simultaneously. In actual fact the metal plane piloted by Wing-commander Grant-Dalton was the first to make a forced landing. It suffered a broken under-carriage and other damage. The wooden Moth crashed a few seconds after, and this machine suffered severely, the under-carriage being totally wrecked,, the propeller smashed, and considerable other damage caused. This evening a reporter visited the scene of the double crash. Although the site of the smash is less than a-quarter of a mile from the homestead of Mr J. M. H. Tripp, the field where the planes He is a tussocky wind-swept waste. To the visitor it appeared remarkable that the occupants of the wooden Moth were not either killed or seriously injured, as the undercarriage was pushed up through the flooring of the pilot’s seat, and most of the exposed parts of the plane were badly smashed. When the reporter arrived at the scene a Government lorry was already being loaded with parts by mechanics who had arrived from Sockburn. It had been decided to send the wooden machine to Christchurch for repairs, and it is hoped that the metal plane will be sufficiently reconstructed to fly it to Christchurch to-morrow.

immediately following the accident, Wing-commander Grant-Dalton communicated with Christchurch by telephone, aud he left later in the day by service car for the north, intending to cross by the ferry to Wellington. The other occupants of the planes are guests at “ Silverton.” They were reluctant when questioned concerning their misadventure. “We were in the air, and the next thing we knew we were on the ground,” was all they .would say. THE BLENHEIM CONTINGENT. ONE MACHINE FORCED DOWN. (Per United Press Association.) BLENHEIM, February 23. The four aeroplanes which left Dunedin yesterday for Wellington had an exceptionally rough trip throughout. All went well until approaching Blenheim last eveniiig, when, as the result of a four hours’ battle against head winds from Christchurch, petrol supplies ran low. Captuain J. Stedman, of, the Wellington Aero Club, who had Mr C. C. Waite as a passenger in the club’s Spartan machine, made a forced landing in a paddock at Blind River-, belonging to J. Costello. The machine overturned and smashed the propeller, but the airmen escaped unhurt. Pilot Jamieson (Wellington), flying solo in a Moth, turned back and landed safely alpngside the Spartan. The other two machines, piloted by Sinclair, of Masterton, and F. M‘Donald, of Wellington, reached Blenheim with the petrol exhausted and just managed to swoop into the aerodrome. A propeller for the Spartan is being sent from Wellington, and the machine will fly home when the weather clears.