COURT INVESTIGATES PARAPARAUMU CRASH

Press, Volume XC, Issue 27395, 7 July 1954, Page 14

COURT INVESTIGATES PARAPARAUMU CRASH

(New Zealand Press' Association)

(New Zealand Press Association; WELLINGTON, July B. *£“2s® ® f & etrol feed to both engines, though there was adequate PSr°L£ board » would be established, with little doubt, as the reason for loss of Power and altitude in the airliner that crashed at Paraparaumu on May 22, said Mr W. HL Cunningham, appearing for the Minister in charge of Civil Aviation, at the opening of the Court of Inquiry into the accident today.

Three children died' and 20 passen Kers were injured when the aircraft, the National Airways Corporation’s Piere, crashed at 9.23 a-m., while approaching Paraparaumu for a 25-min-hte stop on its Christchurch-Auckland flight.

, accident occurred near KohuUihutu road, Raumati South, about a mile south of Paraparaumu airport.

There were 28 persons aboard the aeroplane, including the pilot (Captain W. B. Pettet, A.F.C.), his first officer (Mr y. L. A. Powell) and six children an <J. infants among the passengers. I Three of the children, Murray Sharphn, aged 2i, Keith Spanhake, aged 5,1 and Lyn Frances Spanhake, aged 2, lost their lives, one passenger was severely burnt, and all others aboard, except 10 passengers, suffered minor injuries. _ Judge Stilwell is chairman-of the Court of Inquiry, and the other two members are the chief engineer of Tasman Empire Airways (Mr G. B. Bolt) and the chief pilot of Straits Air Freight Express, Ltd. (Captain R. B. Hamilton). Dr. R. G. Mcllroy represents the pilot and co-pilot of the aeroplane, and Mr D. W, Virtue represents the National Airways Corporation, owner of the aeroplane. / After its session this morning the Court adjourned till tomorrow. When the Court adjourned, 14 more witnesses were to be heard. Yesterday afternoon, the Court and counsel visited the scene of the accident. ,The inquiry may last four days. This is the first inquiry held under the Civil Aviation (Investigation of Accidents) Regulations, 1953. These say that the Court shall not.be concerned with the civil or the criminal liability of any person arising out of the accident and no evidence relating to any such liability shall be admitted by the Court unless the evidence is necessary for establishing the facts. The effect of this sub-clause in the regulations is not to exclude passengers in the aircraft as witnesses—several are to give evidence in the present hearing—but passengers are no longer automatically qualified as parties to the inquiry. There is, how-| ever, specific provision for the Court in its discretion to join any person as a party. An application by Mr Miles to represent the Airline Pilots’ Association in the Court was not supported by the Court after other parties had made brief submissions on their interpretation of the association’s status under the new regulations. Consent was granted, however, for Mr Miles to sit with Dr. Mcllroy and to put any questions through him. In that way, said Judge Stilwell, the association’s inter- » ests would be adequately protected. Address to Court

“The cause of this accident may be sought in the reason for the aircraft being at such low altitude and at such engine power that an immediate increase in power and height was essential to reach a position from which an approach could safely be made to the intended landing runway," said Mr Cunningham in his address to the Court.

The aircraft, Mr Cunningham said, was in all respects airworthy and properly equipped for the flight, its documentation was in order, the pilot in command was properly qualified, and until a few minutes before the time of the intended landing at Paraparaumu the flight had been made without any untoward incident. He said that from the evidence it would become clear that during a critical stage on the approach to land, there was a falling-off or complete loss of power in both engines, that emergency action was taken, and that the engines responded. It was then too late, in spite'of the efforts and skill of the captain, to avoid a collision with obstructions at a low altitude. He said that the possible causes of failure in two engines at the same time were extremely limited. It was almost certain that such a failure could arise from, one cause only, and that was from being deprived of their only source of power, which was fuel. When the aeroplane left Harewood it carried 300 gallons of fuel in four tanks. Such a quantity of petrol was recovered from three of the tanks after the accident that there could be little doubt that both engines were connected to one tank which had not 1 originally contained enough fuel to feed two engines for the duration of the flight. The aeroplane had struck a small tree, a house, a fence, two large trees, a power line and a steel telephone pole before coming to rest on the edge of a road about 310 feet from the first point of impact The forepart of the aircraft was demolished, and both members of the crew were thrown clear. Fire broke out at once near the forward freight compartment, and eventually burnt through to the rear of the cabin before being extinguished by ground services. Mr Cunningham said that most passengers had “a remarkable and unbelievable escape from what could have been a serious disaster?’ Company’s Record

Mr Cunningham referred to the outstanding record of accident-free operation by the National Airways Corporation since March 18, 1949, when a Lodestar crashed at Waikanae. Since then, 1,500,028 passengers had been carried by the corporation without incident, and 373,797,521 passenger miles had been flown.

This was an enviable record for operations over short stages and was a tribute to the corporation. “The result of the accident was incredible in two very remarkable respects,” said Mr Cunningham. The first was the absence of more serious injury to 25 occupants of the aeroplane, the second was that the aircraft was not totally burnt in the fire after the crash. ~ .■

When the fire was brought under control there was still about 160 gallons of high .octane aviation fuel in three of the tanks, said Mr CunningThe commander of the aeroplane and his first officer had changed duties for the flight, said Mr Cunningham. The purpose of this was to allow Captain Pettit to give command practice to Mr Powell. He had authority to do this. The two pilots, consequently, were sitting in different seats from those they normally would occupy, with Mr Powell'in the left-hand seat. It was part of Captain Pettit’s duties, as the acting-first officer, to visit passengers in the cabin during the flight. This could very well result in the flight being deprived of the direct supervision of a fully-qualified captain for part of the time, which might prove to be a vitally important Pe Mr < Cunningham said that Captain Pettit, during “command practice,” still retained his responsibilities as pilot-in-command of the aircraft .Carriage of Children That the three victims of the crash were children raised the guestion of the carriage of children in aircraft, said *Sr Cunningham. A plane’s certificate of airworthiness prescribed that the number of passengers must not exceed the number for which seating was provided, excepting that a child under 501 b should not be provided with a seat if it was in the charge of a passenger and was carried in the arms of that passenger during take-off and landing. It would seem that the view expressed in the certificate was that, provided the passenger holding the child made use of the seat’s lap strap, it could be left to the passenger’s ln-

stinctjf to ensure that the child was held securely. No doubt there could be technical reasons advanced against . devising lap straps for children, but one part of the evidence to be given suggested something in the way of a body belt capable of being attached to the lap strap of a seated adult. The position in the plane of the three children killed was: Keith Spanhake>j in seat No. 1; Lyn Spanhake, on mother’s lap in seat No. 2; Murray Sharplin, on. mother’s lap in seat No. 19. Evidence of the airworthiness of the airliner and of the skill and experience of the pilot and co-pilot was given] by Oliver James O’Brien, investigating] officer in the accidefits investigation branch of the Air Department. Mr O’Brien said he was satisfied that the craft had been maintained in accordance with approved schedules, by competent maintenance men. Captain Pettit’s total flying experience, including 3760 war-time hours, was 9440 hours, he said. He had flown 8955 hours as pilot in command, nearly all in multi-engined aircraft. First Officer Powell’s total flying experience was 2656 hours, including 1419 hours in Douglas DC3 ’ aircraft. Position of Petrol Valves

Describing the wreckage, Mr O’Brien said the right petrol valve was selected to the “right main” and the left had been found selected midway between right and left main tank. This position, was caused by the impact and displacement of the metal rod between the selector handle and the control drum. The valve itself was found to be in the position of “left tank to left engine.” The air traffic controller at Paraparaumu, James Dalston Howard, gave evidence of normal messages passed between him and the aircraft as it approached Paraparaumu. He said that when he saw the aircraft disappear momentarily behind high ground along the edge of the beach he moved immediately towards the crash signal switch. He sighted the aeroplane again for a moment, banking slightly to starboard, and then it finally disappeared. The crash alarm was sounded and the crash tender and other vehicles departed promptly. Patrick Louis Stokes, senior traffic officer at the Air Department, Wellington, also gave evidence of routine messages exchanged with the aircraft. A resident of Raumati, George Simpson Lanfear, said he first saw the aircraft approaching lower than was normal for a landing in that direction, when it was about 100 yards from the beach, over the sea. The motors were roaring as it passed overhead and the aeroplane crashed a few moments later in the street in 'hich he lived.