‘Airman’ in jungle just a branch - Air Force News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Air Force Times

‘Airman’ in jungle just a branch

A moss-covered form hanging in the jungles of Papua New Guinea — which Australian hikers suspected was the body of a World War II airman — has turned out to be just a tree branch.

“While the location near Kagi is below a flight path that was commonly used by allied aircraft during World War II sorties, the find has been confirmed by ADF staff as a moss-covered branch,” the Australian Defence Force said in a statement.

“It appears the branch has broken off the main tree and fallen across some vines which, from the ground, could have been confused with the body of an airman.”

An Australian hiker noticed the oddly-shaped branch while taking pictures of the jungle canopy, Australian newspapers reported last week.

“It wasn’t until the wind blew that you could really see it is in a harness, there are goggles and it appears to be caught up in cables, so presumably it is an airman,” David Collins, a guide with the No-Roads trekking company was quoted as saying in the Melbourne Herald Sun.

The Kokoda Trail, near where the moss-covered remains were found, was the scene of intense fighting between Australian and Japanese forces during World War II.