MOTH WRECKED WHEN LANDING ON ROUGH GROUND.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18888, 14 October 1929, Page 3

MOTH WRECKED WHEN LANDING ON ROUGH GROUND.

PILOT RISKED OWN LIFE SOONER THAN INJURE CHILDREN.

Sooner than run the risk of injuring ch*‘!dren plaving in Barrington Park. lieutenant Noel L. Vale, of the New Zea’and Air Force, landed a Moth aeroplane on rough land at Spreydon yesterday morning. In so doing, the 'plane somersaulted and Mr Vale, who was pinned underneath, received a cut above the left eye. The machine— NZAY—was a total wreck. The Moth passed over West Spreydon at 10.40 a.m., and was travelling in the direction of Sumner. When over Beckenham, in the vicinity of Colombo Street, the pilot did a spin, doing three complete revolutions. Those who were watching noticed that the engine did not commence again when the machine was flattened out. THE LANDING. Coming down under perfect control, the machine headed for Barrington Park, where there is sufficient room for a ’plane to land in an extremity. When nearing the park, Mr Vale, who was flying solo, noticed that it was dotted here and there with children. He realised that if he had to land there, he would probably injure someone, so be crossed over Barrington Street and attempted to land in a newly ploughed paddock. The machine had descended so steadily that although many of the residents realised that it would land somewhere in the vicinity, no great anxiety was felt, as it seemed that the pilot would come to the ground without any trouble. When the wheels hit the ploughed land, however, a huge cloud of dust shot up and above this could be seen the tail as the aeroplane did a complete somersault on its nose, coming to rest upside down and facing in tjie direction from which it had come. Two loud noises, similar to explosions, occurred as the machine turned over. The first on the scene was Mr A. Kirk, of 83 Stourbridge Street, and he, with a boy who rushed from another direction, lifted up the tail so that the pilot could get out of the cockpit as at that time Mr Vale was pinned to the ground.

Mr Vale was taken to the hospital, where his injury, a slight cut above the left eye, was dressed. Within an hour of the occurrence the pilot had returned to the scene of the mishap and was giving assistance to remove the damaged ’plane. “The engine stopped and I had to land,” said Mr Vaje after the mishap. He added that because of the children in the park, he had to land on the rough ground. AN EYE-WITNESS. Mr Kirk, who was gardening, saw the ’plane gliding down and immediately realised that the pilot was going to make a forced landing. From where he was standing Mr Kirk thought that the machine would hit the wireless mast on the property next to his own. The Moth, however, cleared the guy wires of the mast by several feet and struck the rough ground turning over on its back. Fearing that the machine would catch fire, Mr Kirk rushed to help the pilot who called out from underneath, “I’m all right.” Mr Kirk lifted the tail of the ’plane and Mr Vale was able to crawl out. FIRE DANGER ELIMINATED. When he saw that a forced landing was inevitable, Mr Vale turned off the petrol supply, thus preventing any risk of the machine catching fire. Within a few minutes of the machine landing, Captain M. Buckley, 0.C., Wigram Aerodrome, and Captain W. Burrell, of the Aerodrome 6taff, arrived by motor, while Captain J. C. Mercer, pilot-instructor of the Aero Club, came over by aeroplane to see the damage. Aided by some volunteers the Air Force officers proceeded to dismantle. , the machine and two hours after the occurrence, the wings and engine had been removed and these, with the fuselage, were loaded on to an Air Force truck and taken to the aerodrome. The machine was so badly damaged as to be a total loss. Both blades of the propeller were snapped off at the boss and the engine was partially torn from the fuselage, while both wings and rudder were crumpled. Mr Vale, who is sales manager for the Todd Motor Company, has been a pilot of the Air Force for some years and has done a good deal of flying during the various refresher courses, handling all kinds of machines. He lives at 78 Forfar Street. The machine is the property of the Government and is on loan to the Aero Club. It is probably that an inquiry well be held into the cause of the mishap. INSTRUCTOR’S STATEMENT. “The machine was in a spin at about 2000 feet” said Captain Mercer yesterday afternoon. “The engine stopped and the pilot, realising that he did not have enough room to dive to start the engine again, looked for a suitable landing place. He chose Barrington Park, but when he came closer he saw there were children about and turned into the small paddock across the street, deciding that it was better to risk the machine than the lives of the children. “The decision showed great presence of mind on the part of Mr Vale. The fact that he landed the machine in such an unsuitable place without serious injury to himself is a tribute to his ability as a pilot and to the automatic action of the slotted wings.”