CRASH FEARED

Taranaki Daily News, 14 September 1934, Page 4

CRASH FEARED

NEW PLYMOUTH AVIATORS MESSRS. GREEN AND AUSTIN LOST IN MOUNTAIN BUSH TRAPPERS REPORT CRASH NIGHT PREVENTS SEARCH The Western Federated Aero Club’s Moth aeroplane ZK —ABS, with two New Plymouth men, Messrs. James Austin, photographer, and S. W. Green, pilot, is believed to have crashed in dense bush on the Kaimai range on the northern side of Mount Egmont. Search was abandoned as futile at nightfall yesterday, so that the men, if alive, have spent the night at an altitude of between 4000 and 5000 feet in bitter cold.

The first news of the possible disaster was received at New Plymouth aerodrome shortly before three o’clock yesterday afternoon. An opossum trapper, Mr. George Burrows, telephoned from Kaimiro dairy factory to report that he and his father had seen an aeroplane flying low over the ranges about two o’clock and had shortly afterwards heard a sound which they believed to be a crash. Mr. Burrows sen. immediately set out to search the dense bush in the direction from which the sound came. His son made a dfesperately hurried trip over a rough mountain path to Kaimiro factory to relay the news to the aerodrome. PHOTOGRAPHING EXPEDITION. A motor-car in charge of Mr. lan Keith, flying instructor, immediately rushed to the factory with medical supplies, and a party set out to the Burrows’ camp. Mr. Burrows sen. was still searching but returned to camp at dusk, having found no sign of the missing plane. On his advice, search was abandoned for the night. There would be no chance, he said, of success in the dense bush by night. Parties are ready to continue the search at daybreak. Aeroplanes from Hawera and Wanganui will set out at dawn in an endeavour to locate the missing plane from the air. Mr. Green, who is a well-known New Plymouth Aero Club pilot and holder of a B class commercial license, was pilot of the machine. Mr. J. Austin is a New Plymouth photographer, who has made many , aerial trips over the mountain in quest of novel subjects. He had arranged with Mr. Green to make another trip over the mountain to obtain photographs with the new infra-red plates used in distance photography. The machine used, ZK—ABS, had only that morning been tested by FlyingOfficer Keith and was in perfect conditions. With a full petrol tank containing sufficient fuel for three and flhalf hours’ flight, the machine took off from Bell Block at 11.40 a.m. in perfect weather. Previous flights made since daybreak had shown that the air was smooth and visibility excellent. The aerodrome staff expected the plane would return by one o’clock. The usual time for a photographic trip over the mountain from the airport is an hour and a-half. When the plane had not returned by two o’clock Flying Officer Keith telephoned the Hawera aerodrome to see if the fliers had made a landing there. Hawera, however, had seen nothing of the overdue plane. It was then thought there might have been a forced landing on farm lands nearer the mountain and that Messrs Green and Austin would communicate by telephone as soon as possible. TRAPPERS’ MESSAGE. At 3 o’clock, however, a message was received from Mr. George Burrows at Kaimiro that he and his father had seen a plane flying low and heard the sound of a crash high up on the Kaimai ranges. Immediately a party comprising Messrs. Keith, M. Kawe, E. Smith and M. Archibald rushed a car to a point just beyond Egmont Village, taking with them medical supplies and tools. After hearing Mr. Burrows’ story they set out over a rough mountain track through dense bush for the Burrows’ camp at an elevation of 3500 feet. They were accompanied by two local residents, Messrs. L. Schicker and F. Goldrick, who know the country well. On arrival at the trappers’ camp at 4.30 they found that Mr. Burrows sen. was still away searching the crest of the range. After half an hour’s fight with dense undergrowth they found the searcher, who reported that despite more than two hours’ strenuous search he had found no traces of plane or aviators. He had shouted but had received no reply but echoes. He had even gone as high as the snowline at 5000 feet. Darkness was rapidly approaching and the party returned to the camp for consultation.

Mr. Burrows sen. is an experienced bushman and knows every inch of the ranges, having trapped over the country for many seasons. The timber and undergrowth are dense and in places almost impenetrable. “You would have as much chance of finding a plane in a night search,” he told Mr. Keith, “as of finding a needle in a haystack.” Upon his advice it was decided that Mr. Burrows and his son should remain at their camp the night and the others return to the town to organise search parties by land and air, to operate from daybreak this morning. A search party from Kaimiro went out last night, but was forced to return at about 8.30 o’clock without having been able to make any progress through the thick bush in the dark. Seven members of the Taranaki Alpine Club arrived at the North Egmont hostel before midnight with ropes and other necessary gear. They were to return and rejoin the other parties at the Kaimiro factory for a 4 o’clock start this morning. They intended to bring a motor-truck down from the hostel to assist the search parties. It was considered significant that there had been a considerable rise in the temperature by midnight. There was no sign of cloud about the mountain, but it was thought possible that cloud would form with the change in temperature, which had risen about 15 degrees. People in the district expected that if the men were unhurt they would light fires to give an indication of their whereabouts, but despite the fact that a constant watch was kept from vantage points about the North Egmont hostel till an early hour this morning no sign was seen. The road from the toll gates at the radius line to the North Egmont hostel was closed by snow.