DAKOTA STRUGGLES BACK

Chronicle (Levin), 18 April 1946, Page 7

DAKOTA STRUGGLES BACK

-Press Association

MISAD VENTURE ON WAY TO SYDNEY LUGGAGE JETTISONED

By Telegraph-

AUCKLAND, April 17. With oue engine of their aircraft stopped and useless, their luggage ,")et--tisoned with other movable equipment to save precioua weight, and themselves woaring " JMae West" life jackets as part of the routine eniergency procedure, 10 passengers who left Whenuapai for 8ydney_ in a Dakota transport of the R.N.Z.A.F. this luorning spent four anxious hours while the aircraft' 'struggled back tb Auckland following a motor defect about -450 miles froin land. iStill wearing their life jackets but without their luggage, the passengers, iucluding a 70 year old widow, tlie only' woinan aboard, were delighted to see! Whenuapai again. With one exception, ' however, they intend leaving aghin this uiouung ia a replacement aircraft. The Dakota which left Whenuapai at' 7.20 o'clock reported by radio at .10.17, that oue engine was out of action th rough loss of oil, aud that slie liad I lifrnetl Itac'A for Now Zealand. (Stcadily losing height, the plane struggled in on oue eugitie lauding at Whenuapai, at 2. .*50 o 'cloelt. Passengers who were aboard thej Dakota iucluding the senior ohicer ofi the R.N.Z.A.F., Air Coumiodore A. de \ T Nevill, C.B.E., Vico-chief of the Air' ytall"; iirs. A. Oxenford ( Wydney) , Alajor J. A. Coppard, Major E. J. Ilen-i 1 on, Eub-Licuteuant N. J. Doole aud xMessrs W. VV. Rae, T. J. AlcDouald, .1. j A1 cAlister, .j. Coouey, ,T. M. McQuarrie, | J. W. Jackson, 1. Stenstroin, R. P. i Langley, »J. ,'St. Collier, C. H. Haudo and i W. j. Platt. All were travelling to 8vd-' ney in tlio Dakota which was thou' Lound for l.os Nogros but tlie passeu- ' gers ineluded a uuniber on their way I o destiuations inuch furtlier alield. The ' captain of Ihe aircraft as Flight Lieu(enaut N. Gardiner, D.E.C., of Rakaia, Al id -Canterbury, who won Itis decora- ' tion in August, 191-15, when lic -brought a*' daiuaged Lancaster bomber* back to' btf.se in iJritain after a mass raid -011 Berliif. Other crew inembers were Flv-| ! ing Otlicer T. E. 0 rainger, of Auckland, j { uavigator), Elying Oiliccr D. W. 0ray,i of Auckland (wiroiess oporator) , and' Elight.-sergeant C. W. ' 8mail, of Dunedin (flight engineer). All are moinbei's of No. 41 8uuadron.

Three hours out froni Whenuapai at 10.17 o'clock this moniing when she had covered some -150 miles 0x1 the way to Sydney, the Dakota eucountered tiouble later traced to a broken oil pipe in the port engine. The captain, flying at 11,000 feet in cloudv weather uitli a tail wind of 20 miles an hour, to hclp the aircraft westward, noted a dro]) in tlie oil pressure and rise in temperaturc and froni his seat could see oi 1 runuing from the port engine. He iiuinediately "feathered" the pro pellor, stopped tlie engine and turned back while the radio operator sent out a call for help and reported the posi-' .tion. Making most of his height, Flight Lieutenant Gardiuer nursed the Dakota for an hour but by 11.30 o'clock the aircraft was down to 5000 feet and still losing height alfhough the starboard engine was dolivering maxiinuiri power. He therefore dccided that all luggage mus't be jettisoned together with non-esseritial items of the air-, craft's equipment. The passengers who: had already been ordered to put 011 their lifejackets and who had been dril- j led by the flight engineer in "ditch-i ing" procedure and dinghy drill, faced ; the Joss of their luggage philosophieally -v i

' and the crew, realising the inqjortailce of saving weight, had uo liesitaLioii. The inward-opening door was unlocked | and one by oue tlie suitcases and other , pieces of baggage were tossed out to ! fall into the Tasman far below. Thev j wero followed by the engineer 'a too) ! kit, portable steps and other iteips. ! Only the.mail, a single bag of 40 pouhds was saved. With some 700 pounds ' taken ofT her load, the Dakota respoiitlr ed iiumediately. Elight Lieutenant 1 Gardiner found that the aircraft xvould l mahitahi height 011 one engifio and con- ] tinued slowly but steadily toward ihe I safety of the New Zealand eoast. ile ■ was witliin an hour 's flying of Wlienuai pai when tlie seeond engine showed ' signs of labotiiing under the iong spell ! of high power running, so he throttled ' back, deliberatelv losing a little "more i height to save the engiiie which, on a reduced throttle opening, carried the ! aircraft safely home, shepherdedi by a | t.'ataliiia flyiug boat from Hobsonville ! and by a Hudson carrying an airborne lifeboat from Whenuapai. The Dakota ! returned to station seveh hours aftCr i it had left. Flight Lieutenant Gardiner, the runway cleared for hihi, brought his damaged aircraft in to a smooth land-, ing and the passengers who had been kept infofmed of the aircfaft 's ■ progfess, alighted in a gfateful ffame of mind. They were loild in their praises of the conduct of the captain and crew aud with the exception of one, all indicated they would fly to Australia in another Dakota seheduled to leave in the morning. Designed to meet such situatipns, fly-ing-control and ai r-sea-rescue organisations functioned snioothly while Flight Lieutenant Gardiner was bringing his aircraft back. The specially traineil staff at Mechanics' Bay, were in constaiit radio communication with the Dakota, kept a steady track of her progress and recorded it 011 a chart, and set air-sea-rescue procedure in train. Wlien a radio brouglit news of the aircraft 's plight all aircraft likgly to.be of value were ordered to stand by. A Oataliua of No. 5 Squadron was despatched froin Hobsonville and later a Hudson carrying an airborne life-boat was seut' out from Whenuapai. Both made contact witli tlie Dakota. I11 addition two other Dakotas were held at Whenuapai on a stand-by basis. A Hudson at Norfolk Island carrying a lifeboat was ordered to be ready for flight and a Ventura avus tiowxi from Olmkea to Whenuapai with a Lindholme dinghy aboard in case it should be required. Xxi addition to .plotting ,the„progress of the Dakato, the flying control s'taff was required to walch and record the muyenients of the two rescue aircraft in tlie air and to ensure that the dauiugeu plain ivas intercepted. Fassengers intersiewed at afternoon tea at Whenuapai iiumediately after the landing, showed few signs of their ordeal. They joined in expressing their gratitude to Ft./Lieut. Gardiner and his erew for their cool and capable handling of a diflicult situation, for their consideration for thosc aboard le33 accuslomed to air travel. and for their high standard of airmanship. They were concerned over the loss of their luggage in spite of some of it being insured but were too delighted to be safely on ground to worry about more than their immediate needs. Each pas senger was supplied with °a eertificate stating the eircumstances in which the luggage "had been lost and sevcral iinmediately telephoned people in Auckland in an effort to obtain some sort of kit. Eaeh was also given ration coupons and the party was later drivep to Auckland to stay the night either with friends or at' hotols where bookings had been made when it was * learned tlie Dakota had turned back.