TRAGEDY FEARED

Taranaki Central Press, Volume IV, Issue 391, 24 March 1937, Page 5

TRAGEDY FEARED

’PLANE DISAPPEARS. FLOATING WRECKAGE FOUND. Pilot and Passenger Taranaki Residents. Press Association—Copyright. Wellington, March 24. Running into fog over Cook Strait yesterday when flying from Nelson to Wellington, a Western Federated Aero Club Moth aeroplane returning from the South Island aero pageant at Hokitika disappeared with its pilot and passenger, the only clue to its fate being the finding late yesterday afternoon of, three pieces, of silverpainted -wood in the sea near Makara.

Mr Arthur Smith, of Pungarehu, near Opunake, Taranaki, wta* the Pilot, and Mr j. Hamill, also from Pungarehu, wias the passenger. Aeroplanes, launches and land parties cooperated in an extensive search which lasted until nightfall. The floating wreckage was found by Messrs D. Haig and E. McKenzie, employees of Te Kamlaru Station, Makara, on the beach about six miles from Makara. From the description given by Mr A. Sutherland, manager of the station, the picees are considered to be almost beyond doubt parts of the missing plane, which if now thought to have crashed in the sea near Makara.

Mounted police will leave Wellington at daybreak to-day- to search the beach for any further signs of the missing machine or its occupants', and an aeroplane patrol of the sea thereabouts Will be made from Rongotai.

With other ■club machines which have been competing at the pageant the plane left Nelson about 9.30 a.m. All the machines flow to near Cape Terawhiti, sorle then turning to Wellington and Others lowland Wanganui. Messrs Smith and Harmill intended •° fly to Wanganui, there taking on extra benzine to proceed to New Plymouth. Thick Bank of Fog. Mr C. Plumtree, another member of the Western Federated Cl lb, was flying another Moth. With Mr Plumtree leading the two machines flew! up the coast until a thick bank of low fog was encountered. The pilots attempted to fly under the fog and round the coast, but the fog reached almost to the water.

Mr Plumtree, deciding it would be risky to proceed with such poor visibility, entailing blind flying if the fog bank proved wide, turned out to sea, expecting the other machine to follow the same course. He cruised about for a quarter of an hour without seeing a sign of the companion plane and then returned to Wellington. He reported having lost contact with the other machine, and arrangements for a search were immediately made by Wing-Commander T. M. Wilkes 1 . Flying-Officer Buckeridge took charge of the search. He arranged for a search covering the coast and the sea from Cape Terawhiti to Mana Island, in which area the missing machine was last seen a t 10.30 a.m. Five ground parties from stations in the vicinity patrolled the beaches, ind three launches engaged in a coastal reconnaissance from Makara. All available aeroplanes were used for an aerial search. A Royal New Zealand Air Force Vickers Viidebeest bomber,, returning to Auckland from the pageant at Hokitika, left Wellington in the morning and flew along the coast about a quarter of an hour after the disappearance of the Moth. Flying-Officer Cohen, the pilot, later reported that he had seen nothing of [the missing machine.

Squadron-Leader Stedman flew in a Moth', with Mr Plumtree as observer, to the locality where Mr Plumtree saw the last of the machine carrying Messrs Smith 'and Hamill. At approximately the same place where the two planes parted company earlier •he searchers were forced almost on to the water through the fog being right down,” and for a time they had to fly blind.

The Union Airways air liner on the regular run from Dunedin to Palmerston North encountered thick, low fag extending well out to sea and runPing up the coast from Cape TeraWhiti to Mana Island. The air liner cruised in the locality for some time but saw no sign of the plane. Mr lan Keith, instructor to the Western Federated Aero Club, flew rom Wanganui, making a detailed search along the coast, and oth”r Planes from Rongotai ’ also searched dark DSlVely ' nOt returnin S till after

Makara settlers had combined in a search covering the beach in tec ,'° ns ' About 6 p.m. Mesrs Haig and McKfcn ß ie found three p ™* Se ' The W °° d ' shaped and Painted silver, was floating c i ose to

shore, and a fourth and larger piece was seen about a quarter of a mile farther along the coast. Mr Sutherland reported the find, which is considered to be of inter-plane struts. Fifty Hours’ Flying Experience!, A report from New Plymouth states: — The pilot of the missing aeroplane, Mr Arthur Smith, of Pungarehu, Cape Egmont, is aged about 24. A member of the New Plymouth Aero Club, he is a son of Mr Percy Smith, farmer, of Pungarehu. He has had 50 hours’ flying and holds an A license which was recently endorsed, but has had little cross-country flying experience. Mr Smith's companion -Was a friend, James Hamill, also of Pungarehu. He is still in his ’teens and it' not an aviator. He is a son of Mr A. Hamill, of Pungarehu. Mr Smith flew the plane to the South Island pageant at Hokitika and look Mr Hamill for company,