NO ONE AT THE CONTROLS

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXXVII, Issue 19669, 11 December 1933, Page 6

NO ONE AT THE CONTROLS

UNUSUAL AVIATION ACCIDENT SEVERE COLLISION WITH MOTOR CAR By Telegraph —Press Association AUCKLAND. December 10. A very unusual accident occurred at the Te Rapa aerodrome, Hamilton this morning, when a Moth aeroplane ran amok with no one at the controls and. after careering round the aerodrome, crashed into a new motor car standing at the entrance to the hangar. The machine, which belor.es to the Western Federated Flying Club of New Plymouth, was flown from New Plymouth yesterday by Mr Kenneth Bartlett. With a view to making a flight, Mr Bartlett gave the propellor a swing. Unluckily the throttle was wide open and the machine started forward, the pilot being struck and knocked down by one of the wings, receiving bruises to the back. Mr Gordon Lindsay made a frantic effort to reach the controls by jumping on to the moving machine which, however, tfuickly gathered speed forcing him to jump clear. Several bystanders made vain attempts to stop the machine by grasping the wings and tail. Somebody gave the tail a twist with a result that the machine swept round in a wide arc, finally crashing into the motor car. The impact was severe, and the aeroplane’s propellers were snapped off, the wings broken and the undercarriage shattered. The body of the motor car was extensively damaged.