Maurice Kirk Rescued Up After Ditching Cub In Caribbean

It's likely the end for a storied aircraft... but it could have been far, far worse. Eccentric adventurer Maurice Kirk was successfully rescued Saturday, after he was forced to ditch his prized "Liberty Girl" restored Piper Cub in the Caribbean.

Kirk, 62, was forced to make an emergency landing in the WWII spotter plane, reports The London Times, due to a reported engine problem. The New Zealand Rescue Co-ordination Centre picked up on Kirk's emergency locator beacon, and alerted the US Coast Guard in Miami to send a helicopter.

Search crews found Kirk near dusk, sitting on the floating wreckage of his aircraft about 80 miles off the Dominican coast. He suffered a cut to his head, but otherwise appeared to be OK. He was taken to a hospital on the island of Providenciales, in the Turks and Caicos islands, as a precaution.

USCG Petty Officer Nick Ameen said Kirk's decision to equip the Cub with an ELT "may well have saved his life. That was a really good decision on his part."

As ANN reported, Kirk restored the 1943 Piper -- reportedly once flown by WWII General George S. Patton -- in Maine last year. The aircraft was damaged in 2005 when Kirk crashed in Kanazawa, Japan, after travelling three-quarters around the world. The airplane was subsequently impounded by Japanese authorities, but was released back to Kirk in December 2006.

Kirk had spent the past several weeks flying the "Liberty Girl" around the Caribbean. As a precaution, he sprayed the aircraft with shark repellent in case he was forced to make a water landing, said Kirk's wife Kirstie. "I was warned that the outcome of these things is usually not very good, but I told them my husband is indestructible," Kirstie Kirk added, after hearing the news her husband had been forced to ditch the plane.

"He had an engine stop and I think he must have glided it down," she told the South Wales Echo. "He cut himself free and got out through the cockpit. He had a lifeboat with him, but it did leak a bit."

Kirk has a decidedly colorful history. The self-described "Flying Vet" was actually expelled from the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons in May 2002, after being convicted 11 times on a range of charges from driving offenses to assault. According to his website, Kirk was mugged during a stop in Cuba last week.

Kirstie Kirk said her husband will likely take to the skies again -- although almost certainly not in the Cub -- despite a decidedly mixed string of luck.

"He's more concerned about his beloved plane than he is for his own health," she said. "I don’t think I would be able to influence him" to give up flying, she added.

IDENTIFICATION
  Regis#: GKIRK        Make/Model: J3        Description: J-3 Cub (L-4, NE)
  Date: 02/16/2008     Time: 2229

  Event Type: Accident   Highest Injury: None     Mid Air: N    Missing: N
  Damage: Destroyed

LOCATION

DESCRIPTION
  AIRCRAFT REPORTED A MAYDAY AND CRASHED INTO THE OCEAN 76 MILES OFF THE
  COAST OF PUERTO RICO, NEAR THE ROVIDENCIALES IN THE TURKS, CAICOS ISLAND IN
  THE CARIBBEAN, THE ONE PERSON ON BOARD WAS RESCUED BY THE US COAST GUARD

INJURY DATA      Total Fatal:   0
                 # Crew:   1     Fat:   0     Ser:   0     Min:   0     Unk:   
                 # Pass:   0     Fat:   0     Ser:   0     Min:   0     Unk:   
                 # Grnd:         Fat:   0     Ser:   0     Min:   0     Unk:   

WEATHER: NOT REPORTED

OTHER DATA
  Activity: Unknown      Phase: Unknown      Operation: OTHER

  FAA FSDO: SOUTH FLORIDA, FL  (SO19)             Entry date: 02/19/2008

FMI: www.kirkflyingvet.com/