NEW ZEALAND FLYER DOWN

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 853, 23 December 1929, Page 1

NEW ZEALAND FLYER DOWN

Forced Landing in Tripoli FOG OBSCURED NEAR-BY BEACONS Wife Dies at Wellington United P.A.—By Telegraph—Copyright Received 10.30 a.m. ROME, Sunday THE New Zealander, Mr. F. C. Chichester, who is trying- in a Moth plane to beat Mr. Bert Hinkler’s record from England to Australia, made a forced landing- in the Tripoli marshes. He was not hurt; but his machine was somewhat damaged. Fog prevented him from seeing adjacent beacons. Mr. Chichester has named his plane “Moses'’ and his motor “Elijah.”

Within a few hours of the departure of Mr. Chichester from England the death of his wife occurred in Wellington. Mrs. Chichester, who was a daughter of Mrs. S. Sweetzer, of 5-1 Knights Road, Lower Hutt, died on Saturday. As it is not known where he intends to land at any particular stage of the flight, it will be difficult to make his loss known to him. Mr. Chichester, who is 27 years of age, was born in England and educated at Marlborough College. He arrived in Wellington about 12 years ago. He became a partner in the firm of Good-

win and Chichester, land agents, at Lower Hutt. Some time ago the partners assumed the New Zealand agency for an English light airplane. Mr. Chichester recently went to England and undertook an extensive aerial tour of Europe. His experiences were reported in a recent cable message which stated that he had had much trouble with his passports. In a remote part of Rumania Mr. Chichester was arrested as a Bolshevik spy and told he would be shot. He had the greatest difficulty in securing his freedom as no*one had heard of New Zealand.