NEIAF
Stan Gajda 1982
Mission History
Took off carrying forty passengers escaping from Batavia, bound for Broome. Russian pilot Petsu
was commander, and had his Dutch wife aboard. A Dutch
co-pilot Hubinks was second in command, also with his wife. The rest were other fleeing civilians. Running out of fuel, they landed at night on the coast fifty miles south of their destination. Fearing the Japanese were behind them, the crew
burnt the plane.
Spotted the next morning Electra VH-ABW piloted by James Wood, he circled the beach and noted what they needed. Landing at nearby Anna Plains ranch and collected water and dropped it at the beach. Rancher Leo Gugeri arrived in the afternoon and transported the elderly and woman back to Anna Plains.
Leo Gugeri eyewitness recalls:
"When I went back for the rest of the people
in the morning they had packed matresses & anything else
that would burn on the plane & covered them with Lube
oil & fired a flare into it, the tide was ou tat the time
& the engines were tipped out & all the front of the
plane was burnt, But the body and tail section was unharmed,
I could have cryed when I saw what they had done to destroy
such a lovely machine, They said they were following instructions,
not to leave anything that could be used by the enemy."
Wreckage
Stan Gajda located this wreck in 1982, after hearing many rumors
about it. Leo Gugeri recovered the medical chest, flashlight and fuel tank from the wreckage.
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