A 71-year-old British pilot who went missing over Africa in his 1940s plane has turned up – but he and fellow participants in a vintage air rally appear to have run into trouble with the authorities in Ethiopia. Maurice Kirk, a retired vet and former drinking partner of actor Oliver Reed, was taking part in the Vintage Air Rally (VAR) flying from Crete to Cape Town when he was reported missing. Organisers said Kirk and his 1943 Piper Cub plane disappeared somewhere between Sudan and Ethiopia, and a search and rescue operation had been launched. Two helicopters and six modern aircraft, carrying spares and equipment, are flying alongside the vintage planes. In a statement, the organisers said: “Vintage Air Rally participant Maurice Kirk, with his 1943 Piper Cub aeroplane, has not arrived at his expected destination, Gambella, Ethiopia.

Source: Ethiopian News November 23, 2016 16:47 UTC