Airliner With 29 Aboard Missing

Chronicle (Levin), 19 January 1949, Page 5

Airliner With 29 Aboard Missing

HAMILTON (Berrtxuda), Jan. 17. e A British-South Ameriean -Airways Tudor airliner, ( Star Ariel ea'rryng ijb. passeingers/went missing today on tlie 1000-inile flight from Bermuda to Iving ston, Jamaiea. Airline oiticials in Lond-on reported that the Star Ariel carried passengers and a erew of seven, when it left on a regular flight from London to Kingston. It is presumed seven pas- • sengers disembarked at Hamilton. The pilot is the 31-vear-old XTe\v Zealander, Captain Jolm MePhee, oi Christchurch, who served with the i ■ ' - V- S, R.X.Z.A.F. during the war. „ $ .. Macdill Field airbase, Florida) reported piekihg iip a message from the ship Santa Inez vvhich said it lieard distress signals today on the ehiergehcB frequeney while a|xout 159 mrles no'rt. of Puerto Rico. The ship's radio operator said it was impossible to tell from what direction the signal was coming. An intensive air search has been organised. Exactly a year ago, the Britisli South Ameriean Airways Tudor Four, Stai-' Tiger disappeared between the Azores and Bermuda witli 31 people. .Xo trace of it was ever found. All Tudor Four aircraft were tlien grounded for reliability trials and did not return to the Bermuda mu for eleven weeks. Twelve days ago three people w'ere killed when the Airline 's Star Venture crashed and burned in Brazil.