N.Z. PLANE MISSING

Hokitika Guardian, 30 April 1929, Page 5

N.Z. PLANE MISSING

ANXIETY FELT,

(By Telegraph—Per Press Association.)

BLENHEIM, April 29. Considerable anxiety is being felt in Blenheim owing to the non-arrival of the Marlborough Aero ('lull’s Moth plane, which left Pnrorangi, near Feilding, at eleven-thirty o’clock this morning. The machine was piloted by Captain Noel Chandler, the Club’s instructor, and Mr 0. A. Macdonald, Secretary of the Club, was a passenger. Three planes, that left a quarter of .an hour earlier, met a severe storm in Cook Strait, and had difficulty in getting through. Captain Burrell, win loft a quarter of an hour alter, ran into the storm seven miles south of Palmerston North, and was forced to return. I

Office has supplied the following details concerning the reappearance of Chandler and MacDonald: "The piano which was forced down owing to engine trouble was slightly damaged on landing at Ship’s Cove. The men walked to Fissendeu’s at Cannibal Cove and at 11 a.in. rang the postmaster at Endeavour Inlet who immediately advised the postmaster at Picton. Both men had a trying time hut are well.”

PRKMIKK’S MESSAGES. WELLINGTON, April ,T). Sir Joseph Ward lias sent a message t-> Captain Chandler and Mr MacDonald as follows: "I need hardly tell you my colleagues and 1 have received the nows of your safety with very nr eli pleasure and relief, and T am sure those feelings art* shared b.v tbc people of New Zealand.” Sir Joseph Ward has also sent a message to. the master of the ferry steamer Maori thanking him for his response to a request to keep a look-

The Postmaster at Blenheim lias arranged that all office's on the West Coast of the North Island shall report

out lust night. In a message to Dix (President ol Marlborough Aero Club) Sir J. (i.

ii' there is any news. So far, there is no information. | The Tiunnhinc, which left Welling- i ton at three o’clock, was asked to keep ’ a lookout, but she has reported that it is impossible to see more than a quar- 1 ter of a mile in the Straits.

j Ward mentions that the Government I were only too pleased to do everythin!! ! possible to eo-operate with Dix in arranging ifor a thorough search to he undertaken at the earliest moment. Sir Joseph has also sent thanks to the Chairman of Wellington Harbour Hoard and the Union Steam Ship Coy. for the prompt manner they responded to the request to despatch a steamer to search for the missing flyers.

PLANE STILL MISSING.

STEAMERS TO SEARCH

BLENHEIM,. April 29. Chandler’s plane had not turned up at late hour.

WELLINGTON, April 29

The Prime Minister stated to-night thgt he would send out two steamers to-morrow to search for the missing airman, Chandler.

HASTINGS, April 30.

The news that Captain Chandler was missing cast a gloom over the town and stirred the pilots of the four machines still here to immediate action. Preliminary test flights have already been made, and Captain AVhite in the Hastings Club’s Moth and Lieut. Smith in the Auckland Aerial Survey machine, have just hopped off for FeiUling. Major Keith Caldwell and Captain Blomfield in the other two Auckland machines follow immediately. They will confer with Captain Burrell, N.Z.A.F. at Feilding and then proceed to search up and down tin* coast and over as much area as possible in tne'liope of finding Captain Chandler. It is understood that Captain Burrell will be in charge of the northern searchers and Capt. Findlay in charge of the search from Blenheim.

The adverse weather report received here only 'spurred the aviators’ determination to proceed at once to search for their comrade.

AIRMEN SAFE.

FOUND AT SHIP COVE

BLENHEIM, April 30. Captain Chandler and Mr McDonald were found at Ship Cove, Marlborough Sounds'. Both were uninjured.

The ’plane was slightly damaged

FEILDING, April 30. Foiir ’planes from Hastings arrived at Pnrorangi 'to join Captain Burrell in the search for Captain Chandler. Just after their arrival at 11.30 they were given the Press Association message’of the finding of the missing airmen,' receiving ■ the news 1 with loud cheers.

FEILDfNG, April 30.

Captain Barrel! who left 15 minutes after Captain Chandler yesterday, says the weather conditions were good at the time of -starting, hut he saw a storm approaching from the west. He hoped to. get round it hut it struck him below Palmerston and he felt justified in. returning. Captain Chandler was flying the Wakefield gift Moth doing a little over 70 miles an hour and carried 3J hours supply of benzine. He should have reached Blenheim at one o’clock. Burrell thinks Chandler would probably turn towards the straits below Palmerston. The storm there at the time would make it difficult for the aviator to decide what to do. The present weather outlook here is very, bad, the sky being overcast, squally rain and bitterly cold.

TUG RECALLED

WELLINGTON, April 30

The Harbour Board’s tug Taia which set out at 10 o’clock to search in the direction of Queen Charlotte Sounds for the airmen has been recalled. No vessel was sent north. It had been intended to despatch the tug Terawhiti -in-that direction but as the U.S.S. Coy.’s Totara goes to New Plymouth -to-day this part ol the search was being left to her. .

IN THE AIR

■HASTINGS, April 30,

Captain White and J. Smiths machines hovered in the air until joined by two machines piloted by Bloomfield'and Caldwell, and all set off in a strong head wind for Feilding, soon after ten o’clock. Accompanying them as pilots were Swan (Secretary of the Auckland Aero Club) in Bloomfield’s machine, Copley (Auckland Ground Engineer) in Caldwell’s, .T. Stead (Hastings) in Smith’s, and Bowles (Ground Engineer Hawke’s Bay Aero Club) iu White’s. After they left a telegram was received from Major Cooper, Auckland, warning them not to leave for the north as the weather conditions wore unfavourable at present. The plans are for the Auckland machines to return to Hastings after completing a search. All machines are carrying ample provisions.

AIHMEN’S REPORT. WELLINGTON, April 30. Thfc Secretary-General of the Post

SEARCH PARTIES BEPOPT.

Seqroli planes which left Blenheim hovered over Ship Cove and saw Captain Chandler and MacDonald being conveyed in a launch to Cannibal Bay and adjoining the machine in shallow water near the beach with the tail in the air.