32 PERSONS DIE IN CRASH

Press, Volume XCV, Issue 28267, 3 May 1957, Page 9

32 PERSONS DIE IN CRASH

Wellington Pilot Among Victims

(Rec. 10 p.m.) LONDON. May 2. An Australian and a New Zealander were among the victims when a troop-carrying Viking aircraft crashed at Blackbushe airport, Hampshire, last night, killing 32 of the 35 on board. They were the hostess. Miss L. M. Lahey. of Wollongong. New South Wales, and First Officer L. Tunnington, of Wellington. New Zealand. All five of the crew of the Viking were killed. Of the 35 on board, 31 were killed outright and one died later in hospital. Among the dead were a mother and two children. The three survivors, all soldiers, are seriously ill in Cambridge Military Hospital, Aidershot, near the scene of the crash. The plane was bound for Lyons. France, on its way to Libya. The aircraft took off and almost immediately after asked for permission to land again. It was making a circuit of the field when one engine cut out and there was an explosion. The aircraft crashed in a pine wood near a main road, smashing trees like matches as it ploughed through them. The Viking, a twin-engined aircraft, was owned by Eagle Aviation, Ltd., which operates 16 Vikings and two Dakota aircraft. The company holds contracts for carrying troops and equipment from Britain to the Middle East. First Officer Tunnington’s address was given a' 44 Raroa road, Kelburn. Wellington.