Passenger Plane Forced To Land On Beach

Chronicle (Levin), 20 April 1948, Page 6

Passenger Plane Forced To Land On Beach

Press Association)

( Per

WELLINGTON, April 19. An electra aircraft. of the National Airways Gorporation, was extehsively damaged when • it made a forced landing on the beach at Tauranga during a violent eleetrieal. storm, this afternoon.'. None of the 10 passengers and erew of iwpf vvas injured. • The^Corporation reported this evening that the aircraft Kahu was fiying the hormal AuCkland-Tauranga-Gisborncs : passenger journey. It was approacliing Tauranga at 3.15 p.ffl. when it rau int.o a violent eleetrieal: storm and heavy rain. The Tauranga aerodrpme was obseured and the plane landed on the beach with oue wiug -over the water and oue over the beaeh. Although the aircraft' was extensively damaged,, there were no casualties among the passengers and erew nor was. the freight and baggage damaged, apart from some newspapers damaged by water. Arrangements have been made, said the Corporation, to avoid further interruption of the fiying schedule. The passengers had been aecommodated for the night at Tauranga. A relief plane would fly to Tauranga aerodrome at daybreak to take over the running.

Considerable repair work will be neeessa'ry before the damaged aircraft is' in service again. The Kahu was piloted by Commander A. C. Harris who had as his co-pilot Alr. G. E. Bruce. There was a full complement of passengers, eight of whorn were travelling to Tauranga and two to Gisborne. Rescue launehes were promptly on the spot. They took the passengers from the damaged aircraft to Ihe shore. One wing of the craft was crumpled' and the other less seriously knocked about. Both propellers were folded and the wliole rear assembly of the fuselagc vvas puslied into the centz-e of the piane. The pilot acted promptly to prevent • a more serious accident. Yisibilitv was restricted to about half-a-mile when the accidcnt occurred. One of the passengers said they could not see anything in front of them when they wero struck by the storm pockct. The lucident seemed to happen within eight or 10 seconds. The mail and passengers' luggage in the aircraft were saKaged shortl'y after the accident, which is the first experienced by the corpor'ation on internal airlines since it took them over hvn vears ano.