CONCERN OVER AIR CRASHES

Chronicle (Levin), 15 January 1947, Page 3

CONCERN OVER AIR CRASHES

AMERICANS "GETTING AFRAID TO FLY" i KEW YOEK. Jan. 13. I , , , ... ' .

Echoiug public coiiccru at tlie recenl ' air craslies members of bot li the llouse of Jd.'prescntatives and Senate advocatt ed (Joiigressioiial investigation indepen- | dent of that whieh the Senate Coin j luerce Gommittee is about to make into | safety precautions as part of the genj eral examination of eouimercial evia-, ! tiou. | Ilepresentative L. Mendel Rivers, ; (Democrat, Soutli Carolina) called the | Jlouscs' attcntion to a report that the j Bastern Airliue plane tliat crashed in I Virginia on Sundav with the loss of 18 j lives was " at least OU niiles oll' eourse. " Senator Brewster (Kepublican, | Maine), in an interview, declared that ! people were getting afraid to flv. The sit.uat.ion was destroying public coniidence. ' These Congressional reactions follow- ! ed the death of 29 persous in aircraft I accideiits in the United States on Sun day. Airline offieia's also reported a 1 decline in air travel. They admitted that it was caused partly tlirough the : crashes, but contended, however, that ■ the slump in air travel was normal in January because of bad weather and slackness of general business aud reereation activity. Oue ohicial pointed out , that last ycar with the passenger ' fatality rate 1.24 for every 100,0(J0;0U0 passenger niiles, the United States airlines inarked up tlie best reeord since 1939. A report from Shanghai says that Cliina's major airlines resumed passen- , ger services after oue week's groiuid- | ing ordercd by the Cominunieations | iMinistry as a rcsult of four crashes within eleven davs that killed 1.13 persons. Therc is 110 olrieial announcenient on wiiat improvements, if any, have becn made for safety during tlie suspension of the services. The booking offices, liowever, are crovvded with ' people seeking reservations.