PLANE CRASH.

Star (Christchurch), Volume LXVI, Issue 20273, 6 April 1934, Page 7

PLANE CRASH.

Pilot Has Remarkable Escape. STEEP SEMI-SPIN. Per Press Association. PALMERSTON NORTH, April 6. Developing a steep semi-spin after apparently stalling at a height of 200 feet, a Moth plane, owned by the Manawatu Aero Club and piloted by J. W. Rodden, the sole occupant, crashed in a field near Milson Aerodrome at 7.30 a.m. The pilot had a remarkable escape. Mr Rodden, who has done five hours’ solo flying, was descending after a short flight fairly slowly for a practice landing when the accident occurred. It was due, it is believed, to loss of speed. The plane hit the ground with great force, making a hole about one foot deep where its nose struck. It then bounced back and stood on its nose at a steep angle, with the front fuselage crushed and the wing edges resting on the ground and the tail practically straight up. The pilot was dazed but almost unhurt, and was able to climb out. Luckily, there was no occupant of the front cockpit, otherwise he would have been killed instantly. Mr Rodden struck his face on the cowling when he was thrown forward, and received abrasions about the eyes. In an interview, Mr Rodden said he considered that he had had a miraculous escape. He is now suffering slightly from shock. The plane, though badly damaged, is considered repairable. This is the same machine as that in which SquadronLeader MacGregor, the club’s instructor, sustained severe injuries in a crash in December, 1932.