AIRMAN KILLED AT RICHMOND.

Taranaki Daily News, 1 May 1919, Page 3

AIRMAN KILLED AT RICHMOND.

A REMARKABLE ACCIDENT. A large number of Thames-side visitors last month witnessed a remarkable aeroplane accident, which resulted in the death of the pilot,' a young Australian officer named Handcoek. Several machines from an adjacent aerodrome were in the air about the time of the occurrence, and Lieut Handcock, who is said to have been engaged on a direct flight, appears to have paused in their vicinity. Whether he intended to loop the loop, or whether engine trouble developed causing the machine to turn, is not clear, but the machine was later noticed to be upside down. It. flew a little while, and then made a descent in a kind of erratic "spiral," "As the machine tufned over," said Mr. Birmingham, an ex-R.F.C. man who happened to be visiting Richmond, ''something fell out. This must have been the pilot. At that time the machine was at 1000 feet or thereabouts It went on its way almost upside down for a little distance, and then began to descend. Had the pilot been in it he could not. have done better than the machine itself, which circled round as if making serious efforts to avoid striking the houses facing the river. "Just as the machine si ruck the surface of the stream there was a loud explosion, which shattered part of the framework;. Parts of the wreckage floated away, hut the body of the machine sank very soon afterwards, near the bridge. Some boatmen put off and saved some of the floating pieces. They hunted round to find the pilot, but, as | there was no trace to. he seen, it was [ surmised that he was drowned. Kventuiillv. however.,, we heard, he had been i rcen to fall in the nark, and some search , prrHes jvcre .'made ugl" 1 Xius W& shockingly sautilnttd, wm