Fri Oct 21, 2005 4:15 pm
Found it here:http://www.news24.com/News24/World/News/0,,2-10-1462_1821323,00.html
Tokyo - A 60-year-old British aviator trying to fly around the world in a vintage light plane is in hospital after crash-landing in an ancient Japanese city, said police on Friday.
Maurice Kirk, whose solo trip started in 2001, has neck and ankle injuries after his 1943 J3 Piper Cub propeller plane made an emergency landing in the historic castle town of Kanazawa, ploughing into three parked vehicles.
A spokesperson for Kanazawa Central police station said: "Mr Kirk sprained his neck and right ankle and also was hurt on his right flank. He has been admitted to hospital.
"It is not known for how long he will be treated at the hospital," he said, adding that the plane had been badly damaged.
"We cannot tell whether or not the plane may be able to fly again after repairs."
The former veteran pilot was flying from the nearby coastal city of Niigata to Hiroshima, about 450km to the west, when he was forced to put down on a highway construction site.
London-to-Sydney air race
Kanazawa, on the Sea of Japan, is about 300km northwest of Tokyo.
According to Kirk's website, he is three-quarters into the journey which started in 2001 when he entered a classic London-to-Sydney air race.
His plane, Liberty Girl, saw military service over France during World War II, it said.
Kirk has recently flown up from Australia through Southeast Asia and South Korea and is awaiting clearance from Russia to enter its airspace in his attempt to reach Alaska.
If the Cub was built in 1943 maybe that makes it a warbird...