CRASHED DAKOTA WAS FLYING 150 FEET TOO LOW

Grey River Argus, 11 August 1948, Page 3

CRASHED DAKOTA WAS FLYING 150 FEET TOO LOW

BLENHEIM, Aug. 10. There is still no explanation _as to why the Dakota freighter was in the locality in which it crashed yesterday morning. It seems clear that had the machine been some 150 feet high-, er it might have been possible for the pilots to have reached the open areas, either to the west or the east. The plane hit a steep ridge about a mile and a half to the south of Cape Rununder at an altitude something in excess of 1000 feet. The impact obviously was terrific and both pilots must have been killed instantly. The bodies of Commander Makgill and Commander McLeod were brought back to Blenheim by a police land party early this morning after a long and difficult trek over steep country. CARGO INSURED

Since the inception of the Railways freight service in February, 1947, their aircraft have made 2745 crossings of Cook Strait and yesterday's crash was the first mishap on the service. A Railways Department official stated all the freight was either insured by the consignors or covered by the department’s policy. Until the wreckage bad been examined carefully, it would not be known what freight, if any, could be salvaged. A party of National Airways engineers and a senior pilot, accompanied by the inspector of accidents for the Air Department, Mr R. C. Kean, left for Blenheim this morning to nroceed to the scene of the crashed Dakota and make investigations.