FLYING DISASTER.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1338, 16 January 1912, Page 3

FLYING DISASTER.

—♦ A DOUBLE FATALITY AT FILEY. SAD END TO BRILLIANT FLIGHT. 1 Mr. Hubert Oxley, a young Yorkshire aviator, was killed instantaneously on December G at Filey, in an accident which followed a brilliant flight, while his companion, Mr. Weiss, received fatal injuries. Hubert Oxloy gained his pilot's certificate at Brooklands in May last. He was only twenty-fivo years of ago, and had accomplished some meritorious porformances in the neighbourhood of Filey, where he was looked upon ns a capable airman. Mr. Weiss, who accompanied Oxley, was a pupil. He was about thirty-two years of age, and was in business in the West Riding: Mr. Oxley, who was instructor of the Flying School at Filey, had decided to set out for Leeds, in-the attempt to win a- prize of iSO for the first flight from the Yorkshire coast to that city, with Mr. Weiss as his passenger. Mr. Oxley commenced the preliminary flight for engine lest round Filey. The atmosphere was brilliantly clear, with slight frost, and the machine made a splendid ''flight, which was witnessed by most of the inhabitants. All went well until Oxley began to descend to the sands in front of tho lifeboat slip. When tho aeroplane was at the height of about eighty feet, the pianos suddenly buckled backwards, and the machine dived. Oiley was shot head first out of-his seat like a projectile, describing a curvo in the air and landing fifteen yards away on his head. Death was instantaneous, his neck being broken, in addition to other severe injuries. Mr. Weiss was pinned under tho machine, and, though groaning, he was fortunately unconscious. No hope was entertained of his recovery from the first. Ho had a compound fracture of the skull, fractured thigh and ankles, and internal injuries, and died at the coastguard station, whither, ho had been instaiitly removed. Tho accident was witnessed by scores of spectators. Mr. Oxley had intended, taking as passenger his engineer, Mr. A- C. Hunt, and the latter was already in his 'seat when Mr. Weiss appeared and asked to be allowed, to go for tho trip iii'his placo. The exchange was immediately effected, and a start made. - In an interview, Mr. Hunt, the engineer, said:—"Mr. Oxley was very fond of diving down with hid engirt working instead of volplaning. He met his death in the same way as his namesake in America, who was killed recently. • When 1 was up ns passenger on ono occasion he executed this movement. I told him he was looking for trouble, but'he only laughed. ' "When the accident happened the sands ;vere bared for about: three hundred yards. This would not allow of a vol} plane. ' Presumably all was well at tho height of four hundred feet, but by .the time he got within eighty feet of the sands tho machine, .would have devoloped a speed of 150 miles an hour. At about forty to fifty feet above'the sands ho probably flattened out tho machine to land, intending this movement to act as a brake and to glide down, but the machine was only tested up to a pressure of 130 iniles, and as n consequence the planes buckled back, and the machine dropped like" a brick."