TWO WINGS FALL OFF AEROPLANE.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18063, 25 January 1927, Page 8

TWO WINGS FALL OFF AEROPLANE.

MACHINE BREAKS UP: PILOT IS KILLED, j VAIN STRUGGLE TO OPEN PARACHUTE. LONDON. December 14. The amazing spectacle of the wings of an aeroplane breaking from the body of the machine 4000 feet up, and the desperate struggle of the pilot to escape with his parachute was witnessed yesterday at Martlesham Heath, Woodbridge, Suffolk. About 30 yards from the wreckage was found the body of the pilot, Plying Officer Gilbert Vernon Wheatley, of the 22nd Squadron, R AF. He had been killed instantly, and the opened parachute b} r his side told of his dramatic attempt to save his life while the broken machine was rushing downwards to earth. The wings came to earth half a mile away. An eye-witness motoring from Ipswich to Woodbridge, told a Press representative that he saw the aeroplane flying over the main road. “Everything about it seemed to be perfect,” he said. “Then suddenly I saw the wings leave the main body ot the machine. For a distance they v-ere carried froward by the impetus of the machine, then they floated gently to the earth. But the body of the machine. with the pilot in the cockpit, came hurtling downwards at a Terri the speed. It fell a long way from me, but the crash was clearly audible.” Another witness said he heard three loud reports just before the machine broke. It was then coming out of a nose-dive. Flying-Officer Wheatley, whose home is at Vernon House, Stretton. Shropshire, was 27 years old,' and one of the most popular officers at the -Martleshain Heath R.A.F. Testing Station, which he joined about a year ago, after serving in India. Tike all the officers attached to this station, he was an expert in aeronautics and Had tested many machines. The one in which he met his death was a Gloucester Gamecock, the latest type of single-seater fighters. This type was introduced in the R.A.F. about a year ago, and was used by the 43rd Squadron at the last R.A.F. display. Martlesham Heath is the largest icst;mg station for land planes in the

I- : " • - country, and members of the, are chosen for their knowledge of aeronautics and flying skill. Testing is carried on dailv, and accidents are extremely rare. This is the first for nearly three years. No explanation of tne remarkable accident is available at present. An official inquiry* is to be held. I Flyng-Officer Wheatley is the 82nd • member of the R.A.F. to lose his life jin a flying accident this year.