{UAH} Missing British amateur pilot, 72, found safe in South Sudan

Missing British amateur pilot, 72, found safe in South Sudan

Maurice Kirk, 72, is flying the Vintage Air Rally from Crete to Capte Town without a compass or radio, traversing some of the most inhospitable terrain on Earth 

• Will Worley 
• @willrworley 
• 23 hours  ago
• 12 comments

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The Independent Online

Maurice Kirk went missing while flying across Africa solo without a radio or navigational tools

An elderly amateur pilot who went missing for a second time while attempting to fly the length of Africa with no radio or navigational equipment has been found safe in South Sudan. 

Maurice Kirk, 72, a former vet and drinking partner of Oliver Reed, was taking part in the Vintage Air Rally, which runs from Crete to Cape Town over five weeks. 

He went missing on Friday after departing Ethiopia in his light aircraft, Liberty Girl, a 1943 Piper Cub aeroplane Mr Kirk claims was flown by General George Patten in the Second World War. 

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But his plane became lost and Mr Kirk was out of contact with the rally organisers.

However, on Saturday, the rally's Facebook page posted a message saying Mr Kirk was alive and well, albeit in one of the most unstable countries in Africa. 

"Maurice is safe!" the post said. "We heard he had an engine failure and landed (not at an airfield) in South Sudan but had a puncture on landing. 

"He's fine, we think the plane also. Locals found him and called a Brit in Juba they recently worked for. He contacted the British embassy in Juba."

Another team flying a 1930s era biplane also crashed on Saturday in Kenya, but were unharmed. 

Mr Kirk, from Bristol, had gone missing earlier in the week while flying a three hour trip from Sudan to western Ethiopia. He had previously reported two instances of engine failure and was flying without a compass. 

Gwokto La'Kitgum

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