Monday, June 29, 2009

Another piece to the puzzle


The following email is from another MDX'er Michael Summers. Hopefully another piece to the puzzle.

Thanks Michael.

I was doing a Google search tonight on the Internet on MDX and stumbled> across your site. I have been interested in the case for some years now and> have collected some of the information shown on your website, obtained from> various agencies, mainly the NSW Police. My family is from Nundle about 60km> South East of Tamworth. They have lived in the area for the majority of> their lives and have operated the Nundle Sawmill for over 40 years having a> good detailed understanding of the Area. I was only 10 years old at the time> the aircraft crashed and I have heard a number of scenarios relating to the> disappearance of this aircraft. On the night of the crash my parents and> other residents both within the town and on properties around the town> distinctly remember the aircraft passing over the town. My father has had a> keen interest in aircraft all his life and is very perceptive to aircraft> that pass through the area, and was particularly so on the night of the> crash. My parents home is approx 1 km to the east of the town and they> recall quite vividly the aircraft passing over the house that night just> after 60 Minutes had started on television. They remember the time as being> approx 7.30 pm and the aircraft unusually noisy with a high power set. At> least 10 other people around the town also heard the aircraft at a similar> time. We have put many hours into establishing a timeline to determine the> aircrafts position, in particular the 9-10 minutes from when it passed the> town to when it is disappeared. I have been a pilot in the RAAF for the past> 19 years and have used my knowledge of aviation and meteorology to calculate> a probable position of the aircraft. With a westerly wind of around 60-70> kts and an approximate groundspeed of 150kts (given the aircraft was> experiencing icing and possibly flying at a low indicated airspeed whilst> attempting to climb) we have estimated the aircraft travelled approx 23nm> (40-45km) from the town, disappearing at 1939. We have considered a lot of> other accounts that put the aircraft in the vicinity of the Barrington Tops> National Park but we think the aircraft could not have travelled that far> given the accounts we have from people at Hanging Rock and further to the> east. We believe it is around the Tuggolo State Forest and Nowendoc National Park Area. My father has> been on several searches with the local Nundle Policeman in recent years in> this area and still large areas remain untouched.