DIVED INTO BUSH
Passengers’ Story Of Plane Crash OCCUPANTS HURLED FROM TREE TOPS (By Telegraph.—Press Association.) NELSON, July 3. From statements marie by two of the passengers today, it appears that the Air Travel (N.Z.), Ltd., plane crashed on the slopes of Mount Hope on Friday afternoon about three-quarters of an hour after it had left Nelson aerodrome. Till then the trip had been pleasant, and, though light rain was met over Gleuhope, visibility remained good. The passengers had no warning that anything was amiss till the plane banked steeply and suddenly dropped into the bush on the hillside. The fuselage was torn open on the trees, and most of the passengers hurtled to the ground, some from a height of about 30 feet. Mr. G. M. Stratmore was the only ■ oue who remained in the plane. The others were scattered about among trees, one of the women coming to rest iu a sitting position still strapped in her seat. Graphic stories of the crash and subsequent happenings were told by Miss A. Patterson, matron of Buller Hospital, and Mr. B. R. Perry, Wellington, when interviewed at Nelson Hospital today. Till lhe plane struck the trees,'said Miss Patterson, she had no suspicion that there was anything amiss. The weather was fine when they left Ne,son and remained so till Gleuhope, when they ran into light rain. Visibility remained good, however, aud the rain was not sufficient even to mist the windows. Everything on the ground was clearly visible, aud she remembered seeing Glenhope before the machine left the road line to cross the saddle where the crash occurred. The trip was very comfortable and she believed she might have dozed for a while, but she felt the plane start to turn on its course, and it was immediately after that that they hit the ground. Fuselage in Pieces. It seemed to her that the plane must have been caught in a down draught and dropped straight into the bush. Before leaving Nelson the passengers were strapped in their seats by either the pilot or Captain Mercer, and when the crash occurred, Miss Patterson said she. found herself sitting on the ground, still iu her seat. It seemed that, the fuselage had fallen to pieces on striking the trees. The pilot, Flight Lieutenant Lewis, appeared to have been thrown clear and was on bis feet almost immediately, but he was very dazed. Mr. Perry had been hit on the chest and felt very ill, and she advised him to rest. Captain Mercer was lying further up the hili, and fie was pinned by a leg with one of the seats. The pilot was able to free him, and he rolled down the hill to Miss Patterson’s feet. At the same time she noticed that the plane's first-aid kit was also alongside her, and she was able to give Captain Mercer an injection of morphia. She would have liked to have done the same for Mrs. Russell, who was some distance away, but, as neither of them was able to move, this was impossible, and she gave herself an injection. Captain Mercer seemed to sleep after this, and the others sat down and rested. Till then nothing had been seen of Mr. Strathmore, who bad apparently sustained head injuries, but he was later heard moving round, in the plane, and Miss Patterson said she was very concerned lest ho should fall through on to one or other of the injured. Finally he did drop to the ground and rolled down .the hillside to Mrs. Russell’s feet. It was about 2 o’clock when the crash occurred, said Miss Patterson, and it was more than two hours later before Mr. Perry and the pilot were fit to attempt to walk back to the road, which the,y estimated to be about a mile and a half away. While Captain Mercer was conscious, lie and the pilot had attempted to work out their position in relation to Glenhope and the main Nelson-West Coast road. They could hear a creek quite close to the plane, and the men decided to follow this down. Men In Bad Shape. Miss Patterson added that she was very concerned that the men would lose themselves in the bush, because both • were in very bad shape; Mr. Strathmore left with the other two, but was unable to go very far and returned to the scene of the crash. He was very dazed and did not realize what he was doing, and caused a great deal of pain to the injured, who were unable to move when he stumbled about the hillside and fell over them. Finally he settled down alongside Miss Patterson and slept till the rescue party arrived. Rain started to fall early in the evening, continued Miss Patterson, and it continued heavily throughout the night. Conditions were bitterly cold and’ the rain seemed to 'be blowing right into their faces. There was no food or drink -and the hours dragged slowly by with hope of rescue in the immediate future seeming very slight. It was 1.30 o'clock on iSaturday morning when the calls of the rescue party from Murchison were first, heard. Guided by a scries of calls from Mrs. Russell and Miss Patterson, they were able to locate the injured, but in the thick bush it was half an hour before they were able to reach them. The injured were given injections of morphia ']>y Dr. Kurzweil, who accompanied the rescuers, and were warmed with drinks of hot coffee aud cocoa.
Little could be done for the injured in the way of first aid. They were strapped to stretchers, and the arduous journey to the road commenced through the thick undergrowth and down the rough creek bed. The going was hard, and it was four hours before the party reached the road. Miss Patterson paid a tribute to the work of the rescuers. She said that they were very lucky to have been brought, out as quickly, as tlie cold and the rain were So terrible that none of them could have lived long if help had not arrived. Dive Into Bush. immediately before the crush, the plane was climbing steeply and seemed to be making an effort of the task of clearing the range of mountains in front, said Mr. Bruce Perry this morning. The pilot apparently decided that he would not gain suflicient; altitude and turned iu a .sleep bank to go back on his course. Before this turn was completed the, machine seined to lose flying speed. ’I he nose went down and she dived into the bush. The weather was fine but windy when tlie plane left Nelson, and it was some time before light rain commenced to fall. Visibility continued quite good. The. tops of some of the mountains were shrouded in mist, but the plane never entered this country. Where the crash occurred was very rugged back country, but he had never seen bush as thick as in that locality. The plane was suspended in big trees which covered the ridge, but tlie fuselage sagged down through the thick undergrowth almost to the ground. Apparently the nose had been smashed off and the passengers were thrown about 30 feet down tlie hillside through this hole. Walk to Road. After lie regained consciousness, at about 4 o’clock, lie had a discussion with the pilot about their position, and it was decided that the two of them should try Io find their way to the road. Darkness was falling in the bush when they started off at about five o'clock, and the men found it necessary to stop and rest every two or three minutes. Mr. Strathmore started on: with them, but after walking a very short distance lie was forced to turn back. Tim pilot, who was in a very had way, struggled on in tlie darkness for just un live hours, the last stages in pouring rain, hut, when only 200 yards short of the main Nelson-West Coast road, he was unable to carry on.
It was about 10 o'clock when lie reached (he road, said Mr. Perry, and ho had only been walking for five or ten minutes when he met a truck driven by Mr. Arthur Hughes, of Nelson. Mr. Hughes took him on to the Gowan bridge and notified the police at Murchison and Nelson by phone of the whereabouts of tin- crashed plane. Accompanied by Mr. P. Disorens. Mr. Hughes returned to Kawatiri and located Flight Lieutenant Lewis, having him out on the roadside when an ambulance from Murchison. arrived .with the rescue party.
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Dominion, Volume 37, Issue 237, 4 July 1944, Page 4
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1,435DIVED INTO BUSH Dominion, Volume 37, Issue 237, 4 July 1944, Page 4
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