DIVE TO DISASTER

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 835, 2 December 1929, Page 9

DIVE TO DISASTER

AIRPLANE CRASHES IN STREET

AUSTRALIANS KILLED SYDNEY, Sunday. After crashing into a street from a height of 3,000 ft. at Grenfell, 290 miles south-west of Sydney, yesterday, a Westland Widgeon monoplane burst into flames. It was reduced to ashes and a tangle of metal-work. Its two occupants were killed. Hundreds of people watched with horror-stricken eyes while the plane made a spiral dive to disaster. The pilot was Captain H. A. Young, and his passenger was Mr. Raymond Gilmour, of Bathurst, and heir to a fortune, who had recently purchased the machine. The airplane had been repaired in Sydney and had just been taken over by its new owner. The airplane had been doing fancy turns over Grenfell, when the wings suddenly seemed to fold back. The machine nose-dived and struck the macadamised road surface with a terrific crash. It narrowly missed three houses and some children who were playing close to the spot. They had a severe shock. Strangely enough both the men were in the machine when it met with a minor accident in the country six weeks ago. It was this accident which led to its being repaired at Sydney. Mr. Gilmour was a popular and daring motor-car driver. While serving with the Australian Light Horse in Egypt and Palestine during the Great War lie was noted for his daring. Captain Young served during the wains a flying instructor. He also did much commercial flying in Australia and New Guinea, where he was engaged in transporting gold by airplane.