FAMOUS AIRMAN'S DEATH.

Press, Volume LVII, Issue 17121, 16 April 1921, Page 2

FAMOUS AIRMAN'S DEATH.

■ » . SAD ACCIDENT IN WEST AUSTRALIA. (FEOM' orn OWW COREESfONDENI.) SYDNEY, April 6. Tlie news of the death of Lieutenant Mcintosh in a flying accident in West Australia caused the whole Australian people a profound shock. Mcintosh was a rough-haired and humorous Scotchman, and he endeared himself to thousands by his quaint speeches during tho days when he and Parer, after their wonderful flight ?from London to Australia,' were receiving hero-worship. It was a pathetic thing that this man should have been killed after a score of hair-breadth escapes in their flight across the world. It will be remembered that they started out from. England secretly, because their old 'bus was such a crazy contrivance that the aviation authorities would not give them permission to even fly the Channel in it. From then on, Parer. (a small, bottle-shouldered Australian, born of Greek parents) andj Mcintosh, the big, roygh-hewn Scotchman) crashed at least a score of times. They literally bumped their way across the world. Eight qr ten times, they were regarded as down and . out. They crashed so badly in Burma that they were both weeks .in hospital. But they always recovered, and they always repaired their crazy old 'bus, and got another start. When they got to Singapore, with long flights over sea ahead of, tnem, everyone prophesied their death.. They crashed once or twice more in the East Indies, but somehow they got across. They flew 500 miles over sea. at last, and fluked Darwin in the dark, by a miracle, and just aa their last drop of petrol had gone. It is probably the most remarkable performarice in all tho history of aviation. . They/ flew the ancient machine to Sydney—and it was, worth travelling miles to see- Such a conglomeration of fencing "wire, bits of galvanised iron, and odds and ends of sticks and rags, never descended on to a respectable aerodrome. But the Wonderful little engine—the thing that brought them through—was, still funning sweetly. _ Parer became a professional flyer in Victoria,, and Mcintosh went West and bought a flying business there. He had taken up two passengers —who are now alleged to have been drunk and behaving riotously in the machine—when tho Avro suddenly nose-dived from 1000 feet, and crashed. Mcintosh and one pa-ssonger were killed outright, but the other man may yet live to tell what happened. So far it is a mystery!. The engine was still running when tho Avro hit the ground. Mcintosh enlisted from Wesb v . Australia,- and had an excellent Tfecbrd in tho Australian forces.