AIRSHIP DISASTER

Hokitika Guardian, 7 October 1930, Page 5

AIRSHIP DISASTER

j : toss OF It. 101. .(United,Press Association—By Electric Telegraph.—Copyright.) 1 ■ . LONDON, October 6. : 7 Sir D. Burney, builder of the R 100,; dismissed the theory that smoking' Wag . the cause of the disaster. It <traa[ [ grossly, unfair to select any one theory at. the present as many came instantlj’! .to the';mind. /He was not yet certain swhether the explosion was. before or’, after the crash. Possibly it Was. something hitherto unknown in airi craft; experiehce; One point which n^ust,ibe .investigated was the load.’ ,“I do not infer that, RlOl -was carrying .a greater,.load 'than legitimately entitled, to, but there are other factors ouch as climatic conditions. If she fan into .a heavy squall it was possible that the weight of the water had something to do with it. It i 3 over appalling tq dwell on just now. My sorrow at the loss of the ship and its splendid' crew are over deep for description.”

GERMAN EXPERT’S VIEW

] V .HELIUM: rOAS REQUIRED.

.7 .} n ■ BERLIN,; October 3.f .•The Graf Zeppelin- flew from Fried-» riclishaveti for Gpeylitz,, and : ; then she lutlted a.t jLeip*ig,-..where . Commander HolierwaJ» <.;itjfqrined; of: -the H-101.' - tllsarteft. Hb enid that he was toO>' greatly sboekedjto exp-reis'-an opinion, especially as,he.d(d uot know the reaedlnfor ilt ..tliat Gnnmandejr - Jsckener npcOntfyl'/expressed'( .the’ /opinion .that' the British airships were splendidly, built, but that they were somewflat;heavy.' f- : y- ’ /This, view has been shared by -several other German experts. t The!"'disaster has shocked German pubJLia opinion, to .the depths. GOmmander Eekenor said that he cquld . hot imagine; RlOl encountering rainof /sufficient weight to force, her downito the ground. : The Graf Zeppelin,/pn/her South American trip, he' ./heaviest rain:' • tlfatohe. b.qd, pyer.:,experienced ,■ and yethad,,to pse oply fifty,iper cent. t ot; their lifting power to offset the effect; - rair!,, ',.He, expressed the ; opirii- ' Rlol7had.,been filled, with, : heliun) r would.: not- ; hayje i^een.so great, i- • • Ooinma,ncier Eckengr has sent a ifies r > : Mr; t of ;> heartfelt'; ; condolence?, , ..saying :7~‘‘The; crew ,of the;Graf,.Zeppelin- mournsthe disaster: with, .comradely .feelings.”. •- ' - "';a!sURYIVOr' DIES.V 7.

’ ■ OTHERS IMPROVING., LONDON, October 6. Rftdcliffe,. one Of ..the. survivors of Jtlpl,; ’died at Beauvais this morning, itlih others .ore: Improving, . * V <■: TK»^isiuSLNCEsr' ; V 6. The late Lord Thompson, his valet, arid'a-ILoF' the-'officerspf the airship had ' taken but special . accident’ J poli- . 1 ' " ,l ’' It;is -understood th'at Sir S. ‘Branch-’ nerh and/) others’of the crew "hdd takon ■T'fie - a'if - sHip ;,< itself; ? ih7cPmmoir with' all' othef" / Gm'e ; rhment property, Was nbt-;;in‘sured. i ?: -; : v ‘" i ' e . A DANGEROUS SHIP. '4 , . - LONDON, October 6. ' As‘to-the theories of the cause of the '-air disaster, the /‘Daily Express” aviation expert now reveals the details' of an alarming experience which overtook R'lol during her flight over Hendon at the Air" Pageant in July last, when she was making her first public appearance./ The! ’officials carefully concealed the fact, that a. disaster endbd; the -career/, pf the; Ship; that 'day./ Directly the. airship left Hendon on the occasion, her. .officers discovered that she continued to lose height. The crew found ’ that her small .gasbags' were chaffing against her metal framework.'

The senior officer ' then ordered all Bpetsd’. back to Cardington. The ship returned safely, but she tvas saved only

by- t}ie sWift'action of Navigator Irwin, 1 who * dumped' tier entire water ha!last ahd.filsdtwo tons 'of heavy oifftiel, and / alsOvemploybd every other possible moans, of reducing her weight. The .theory of yesterday’s disaster/ Bayijythe'expert, ' point to the recurrence ,df<;the' same trouble. A CONFIRMATION. OF ALTITUDE LOSS THEORY. LONDON, October 6. An important development in the investigation of the air disaster is the report that ..the fields and hedges over which the airship passed bore traces of: oil. This discovery, has changed the whole line of the inquiry, as it is taken to indicate, that the officers of the.airship were aware that RlOl was losing altitude, and that they were prepared:to go to the extreme of jettisoning a quantity of her fuel in order to*.lighten the ship. Experts have been securing the countryside since daylight in order to find evidence on this point. ENGINEER'S STATEMENT. (Received thi* dnv at. 12.25. p.m.) ... ? LONDON, October tS. Foreman Engineer Leech in a new statement said the ship was weathering the .storm well over Beauvais. The engines were:normal and then snddenjlv the pose dipped but the airship

straightened out and then she dipped Hgain at an angle of forty-five degrees striking the hill. “I tounted a. second or two between the crash and the explosion followed by a roar of flame. Personally I believe the explosion was the result of the breakage of electric wires.” THE CAUSE OF THE DISASTER. MANY RUMOURS. 1 (Received this day at 1.5 p.m.i LONDON, October 6. . As may be expected, there are many startling rumours as to the cause of tile ; R 101 disaster. The answer to the; question of how did it happen, which all' would be asking must awa.it the official investigations at present pro. deeding. There is every 1 indication that these will be thorough and public, fis the national importance of the disaster demands.

It is significant to recall Sunday’s report that a niece of the airship was picked un a. mile from the scene of the crash. Reliable reports furthermore indicate, that a preliminary examination of the wreckage shows the structure was actually broken on the top .amidship. It is impossible to say .whether this caused the crash, or develioped as a result of it. Although there I is- considerable conflict of testimony, the weight of evidence thus far favours fire breaking out after the crash. In iview of the disaster considerable importnnee attaches to the criticisms of •Rim’s = design;' ’'' •• , MS.i'r T). Buriie v y builder of RtOO, .openly stiitcd he nbvei- liked RlOl, j milhe ■ d’ell' known’': 1 -nnyfil 5 architect, Edward F* Spanner, frequently ex-pressed‘grave-doubts as to the safety and'commercial value of giant airjships.' He emphasised'' with great force in his’ boobs the technical un-; soundness‘of -RIOO and RIQI. Dealing with the dangers of added, weight, he pointed out if there was a film of water only one-sixty-fourth, of an inch in the RlOl the added weight would be eight tons. He added lie was considerably impressed with the likelihood of disaster befalling 'both ships. Among the points on which lie based his opinions, he says “the ship will fly pitched up, or pitched down at an extremely uncomfortable angle. The speed yon. these occasions will be Considerably reduced. The passengers • will constantly be, exposed Jo, violent. cliangesof temperature, • and ‘it is impossible .to; moor .on laud in unfavour-, able. .weather;., iElegtrieal. • -disturbances may. r set r fire,to it,, very much i : more being asked.,of ,enyelopse of RIOO and Rlol,;;than.- in the osne U! of th?: Zeppelin.’’ ...j

j SYMPATHY ACKNOWLEDGED. , I; , WELLINGTON, /October 7. ~ ;MyH. E/ Holland, leader of Labour ; Party., -• received the . following cablegram this morning from Mr Ramsay MacDonald: —“Please accept and convey to the Parliamentary Labour Party my heartfelt thanks for the kind message pf sympathy? in connection with the air disaster.”