Old news from Armidale and New England

Saturday 26 June 1943, The Sydney Morning Herald

CAR HEADLIGHTS
GUIDE PLANE

Emergency Landing

ARMIDALE, Friday. - A con-
centration of motor car head-
lights enabled a lost Wirraway
aircraft to make an emergency
landing on Armidale aerodrome
last night.

The aircraft was sighted at 8.30 p.m.
It circled low over the town for about
20 minutes, dropping flares in the
main street, and other areas.

More than 60 cars raced to the
aerodrome, which has no landing
lights, and the Armidale radio station,
2AD, tried to contact the aircraft.
Eventually, guided by car headlights
and torches, it landed three yards
from the wind indicator.

The occupants, a pilot-officer and a
sergeant from a northern training
centre, said they only had petrol
left for another 10 minutes in the air.
They had become lost, on a training
exercise, and had not known they were
over Armidale.