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''Kookaburra'' was a Westland Widgeon light aircraft registered G-AUKA. When Sir Charles Kingsford Smith disappeared during the "Coffee Royal Incident", Pilot Keith Anderson and mechanic Bob Hitchcock flew in ''Kookaburra'' to search for Kingsford Smith. They departed Richmond NSW and headed for the north of WA via Broken Hill, Maree, Oodnadatta and Alice Springs. ''Kookaburra'' was forced to land in the Tanami desert on 10 April 1929 when the push rod on a valve on number two cylinder loosened, causing a loss of power. Hitchcock adjusted the push rod and they attempted to clear a runway, but were overcome by thirst and perished before they could clear one long enough to take off on. They were found on 21 April 1929 by Lester Brain (a founding pilot of Qantas) and long time friend S.R.L.(Len) Sheppard who flew a Sopwith Camel in the search effort.〔personal discussions with S.R.L. Sheppard 1999 〕 A ground party traveled from Wave Hill station and buried the men where they lay. Due to a lack of water, the ground party did not have time to clear a runway and fly the aircraft out. After a public outcry for leaving the men in the desert, a second expedition with a Thornycroft truck returned to the site, exhumed the bodies to be buried in Sydney and Perth. Again, due to lack of water, a runway could not be cleared so the aircraft was left. The aircraft was forgotten, as it was not economical to recover it. It was damaged by weather and fires and was accidentally discovered by Vern O'Brien, a surveyor traveling through the area in 1961. He did not ascertain an accurate location for the aircraft, as the Tanami is flat and featureless. Several expeditions searched for ''Kookaburra'' after 1961 to no avail. Dick Smith mounted an unsuccessful expedition in 1977 and searched again in 1978 and found ''Kookaburra''.〔 GEO Magazine Vol 1, No 2, 1979, pages 112 to 131〕 The remains of ''Kookaburra'' were moved to Alice Springs airport to a public display. One of Bob Hitchcock's sons, Robert Hitchcock, later joined the RAAF as a pilot and was the pilot of the Hudson aircraft in the Canberra Air Disaster on 13 August 1940. ==References== 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Kookaburra (aircraft)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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