Pilot Spends Seven Days On “Disappearing” Island

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26778, 22 May 1948, Page 7

Pilot Spends Seven Days On “Disappearing” Island

Rec. 9 p.m. SYDNEY, May 21. After his plane made a forced landing on Turnagain Island, in Torres Strait, an Australian pilot, Mr John Spiers, discovered that the island disappeared twice daily at high tide and that it was infested with crocodiles.

He spent seven days in his plane, which became surrounded by watereach time the sea covered the island, before being rescued by a pearling launch. He had no food during this time.

Spiers was flying a de Havilland Dragon transport plane from New Guinea to Australia to renew a certificate of airworthiness when head winds caused his petrol to run low." He saw

Turnagain Island, which is only a mud flat, and made a good landing. It was low tide at the time, and he later discovered that the island was completely covered by four feet of water at high tide.

Crocodiles prevented him from leaving the plane, and the only exercise he could get was bv moving about on the wings of the plane. He was able to catch -some water in a tin cup when rain fell.

A transport plane sighted him on Monday, and Ijiter a Catalina approached. Rising seas prevented the Catalina from taking him off. but the pilot, Mr Peter Cooley, rowed to the stranded aircraft in a rubber boat and stayed with Spiers until the launch arrived. '