Air Survey Shows Death Was Only Seconds Away

Taupo Times, Volume XIV, Issue 43, 3 June 1965, Page 1

Air Survey Shows Death Was Only Seconds Away

Death was only seconds away for the five passengers of the Cessna 172 which crashed three miles from the Desert Road on Friday night. An aerial view of the wreckage, on Wednesday, showed that the plane was heading toward a steep hill and seconds later would have flown straight into it . Asit was , the plane was perched on the edge of a steep gully and the impact of hitting the gully's face mai) have caused the broken tailplane, which lag near the aircraft.

The personal opinion of one pilot. is that the pilot of the Cessna took the only sensible action possible, considering the conditions he was flying in. It was thought that had the pilot attempted to fly above the mist and fog which surrounded him, he would most certainly have died with his passengers. This theory is supported by the fact that a more serious crash would have resulted had the aircraft crashed into the hill. The site of the crash showed little disturbance of the surrounding tea-tree, which suggested the Cessna must have landed without a ruri in. According to one of the passengers, Mr N. L. Polglase, of Taupo, this may have been the case. because he thought the pilot flew low and, at the last minute before the crash, he pulled up the nose of the plane and lower ed the tail. Considering the density of bush, salvaging of the Cessna may be difficult. There was a suggestion that the work be done using a helicopter, but as the body of the plane appears to be wrecked and the engine may be damaged, it is possible the project will be abandoned.