PLANE'S EXPLOSION

Chronicle (Levin), 30 September 1946, Page 5

PLANE'S EXPLOSION

Press Assn.

Secret Inquiry Into Cause film of flight may help

By Telegraph

-Copyrighi

Received Monday, 10.15 a.'m. LONDON, Sept. 29. A secret inquiry into the cause of the Swallow jet plane, piloted by Captain Geoflrey de Havnland, exploding in mid-air over the Thames Estuary will be held beeause th;e piane was on the secret iist, states che Press Association. The plane was ofRcially known as a D.H 108. Experts hope to find out why the D.H. 108 blew up from an automatic camera which photographed the piane's instruments in hignt. A de Havilland Company official said the camera had been found and the film, which had been developed, was legible and clear. Experts are. also searching for Captain de Havilland's pilot's pad, which was strapped on his knee nnd on which he was keeping an account of the piane's performance. There is still no sign' of Captain ae Havilland's body, which may have fioated out on the receding tide. Fog today hampered the salvage operations of the Swallow, but workers reeovered from the mud in Egypt Bay part of the eockpit and other small pieces of the wreckage. The heavier pieces have not yet been moved. A helicopter four times took off from the marshes near Egypt Bay to carry investigators to the mudffat on which parts of the aircraft's wreckage were found. Experts, landing by helicopter, examined. the wreckage and said they were convinccd the engine of the* D.H. 108 did not explode. They considered the accident was caused otherwise, possibly by the aircraft flying at the 1' astest speed in history coming against a solid air wall at a limit of compressibility. A record of the flight, similar to that hoped for from the automatic camera, may be obtained from a cine camera fixed inside the tail of the plane, which has been washed ashore. The De Havilland Company has issued a statement that Geoflrey de Havilland, during.the fortnight before the crash, attained in the Swallow true level speeds "considerably in excess of the world record.*' Lord Winster, in a message of condolence to the- de Havillands, saia: "i feel we have suffered a national loss. He was the perfect representative of that wonderful band of experimental test pilots on whom the development of civii aviation depends. British civil aviation has suffered a great blow. He was a gallant, distinguished, fearless servant of-his eountry." A Ministry of Supply spokesman stated that in view of ihe accident to the D.H. 108, no further attempts on the world airspeed record; would be made on the high speed course at Tangmere this year, and added that there was no suggestion either, that the first prototype D.H. 108, the second of which crashed last night, or the Vickers Supermarine E 10/44, would at present be entered for the world speed record.