Kai Tak Accident - Latvian Aviator's Mishap in Dawn Take-Off
South China Morning Post November 21, 1936
Undercarriage Wrecked
The special plane which arrived here on Thursday evening from Riga via Hanoi with Captain H.Cukurs of the
Latvian air force was partially wrecked at Kai Tak yesterday morning, when the flier was attempting to take
off for Shanghai in continuing his flight to Tokyo.
Cukurs himself was unhurt, but the undercarriage of his machine was severely damaged.
Mr.Nelson, Assistant Superintendant of the airport, was on duty at the time and was supervising the arrival and
departure of the C.N.A.C. plane, which had just landed from Canton and was moored to the buoy off the sea wall.
Cukurs did not wait for the official's return to the hangar. He taxied off the tarmac in front of the hangar and commenced
his run across the drome preparatory to taking off. He had proceeded only a short distance, however, when his plane struck
a patch of soft earth where the surface of the landing field has been under repair during the past week and in a few seconds
the plane's undercarriage had collapsed and was wrecked.
Luckily the machine did not turn over and the pilot stepped out of it, quite unharmed.
The machine was badly damaged. It was taken back to the hangar where the Far East Aviation Company have commenced
repairs.