PLANES COLLIDE

Taranaki Daily News, 29 November 1934, Page 4

PLANES COLLIDE

TE AROHA TRAGEDY ONE KILLED; OTHER HURT ACCIDENT IN “DOG FIGHT’* • CRASH FROM 1500 FEE'S OTHER MACHINE DAMAGED By Telegraph—Press Association. Auckland, Last Night. - The Te Aroha aerial pageant to-day was marred by a .ragedy which resulted in the death of Clarence Waite, aged 29, Te Aroha, and minor injuries to Stanley James Blackmore, aged 40, Hamilton. Messrs. Waite and Blackmore were piloting a Gipsy Moth biplane and a Desoutter monoplane respectively and were engaged in a “dog fight” when the two machines collided in mid-air and fell to the ground. About 300 people attended the pageant, which was held on Mr. G. Goodfellow’s farm at Waihou. The weather was fine and there was a slight southerly breeze. It had been arranged that two Gipsy Moths should take pari in a “dog fight" as one of the spectacular items on the programme, but the second Moth was not available. In order not to disappoint the gathering Mr. Blackmore agreed to engage Mr. Waite in a mimic combat in his Desoutter, which is a much heavier machine than the Moth, and not quite suitable for the purpose. Shortly before 3 o’clock the two machines left the field. They mounted to a height of about 1500 feet and each tried to obtain an advantage over the other by flying over his opponent’s tail and rendering him vulnerable to attack. Four times the two machines came close together, each attempting to beat the other for position, and a thrilling spectacle was provided for the onlookers for about three minutes.

The two aeroplanes were then seen to come very doge to each other, and before anyone on the ground realised a collision had occurred the right struts of the Moth were seen to 6e splintered and to fal). It was obvious then that the tail of the heavier Desoutter had come into contact with the right wing of the Moth and had caused it to crumple, The extra weight thrown upon the left wing caused the machine to spin rapidly and. to fall with increasing velocity to the ground. At 700 feet from the ground the fabric fell away from the fuselage and the machine gathered terrific impetus as it fell. On striking the ground the engine was completely embedded. ■ ‘ The whole of the remainder of the machine was smashed to pieces and laid level with the field a quarter of a mile away from the point at which the machine left the ground. Mr Waite suffered a fractured skull and both his wrists were fractured. Death was immediate. The Desoutter machine was crippled by the collision, portion of its tail being damaged. Mr. Blackmore maintained control of the machine during its descent and by skilful manipulation caused it to stri!-- the ground gently. The monoplane landed on its propeller in a field on Mr. Goodfellow’s farm adjoining the paddock used by the Te Aroha club as an aerodrome. The machine fell backward and came to rest upside down. Apart from the propeller and the tail, which were both smashed, the mono- . plane appeared to have suffered little damage. Mr. Blackmore crawled out of the cabin, and his only injury was a.. . broken nose. He suffered slightly from concussion, but after receiving medical attention he was able to proceed to his sister’s residence at Harriesville.