AIR CRASH CAUSES

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 11, Issue 42, 18 June 1947, Page 6

AIR CRASH CAUSES

, “FAULTY MECHANISM” When air crashes are investigated it is found that the great majority involve planes operated by American companies. Every month the world is shocked by news of a fresh disaster, either in the United States or abroad, and the harm that is being done to the cause of passenger transport is incalculable. Not only is the American public becoming afraid to travel by air, but also the public in every country in the world boasting an airline.

Following the confidence born of the safety record of all the major airlines of the world before the war has come'a sharp setback, and while there will no doubt be more passengers offering than there are seats available for - some years to come, air transport will not become universally popular until it can show that crashes are few and entirely due to natural caused beyond the power of men to control. Too many air crashes overseas within the past two or three years have been due to defective mechanism or faulty servicing, and too little publicity has been given to the causes of these cases. The expansion in air transport has been tremendous since 1939, and the United States has captured the major share of the new demand since the war concluded. At the same time that United States airlines have expanded, however, the American rate of aircraft production has dropped, and many planes are being driven to death and inadequately serviced, as shown by inquiries into at least two recent disasters.

Compared with the American, the British safety record is enviable. Between them Britain and America span the world, and generally speaking Britain has the worst or least suitable planes. Yet her accident record is remarkably low. It would be interesting to know the precise reasons for this difference, but a guess can be hazarded at placing the major blame on faulty servicing of the American aircraft. It is well-known that the meticulous detail with which the aircraft of Imperial Airways were examined before the war was responsible for its remarkable safety record. Where accidents can be traced to mechanical defects the argument should hold good in the reverse condition.

New Zealand ailines, though only a miniature affair so to speak, have also an enviable safety record. All care should therefore be taken to see that services do not expand beyond the capacity of ground staffs to care for the aircraft employed and that those ground staffs continue to remain fully aware of the responsibility which rests upon them. '