AVIATION

Hokitika Guardian, 12 June 1931, Page 7

AVIATION

CIVIL AND SERVICE. LOW PASSENGER FATALITY. \ LONDON, May 1. Whereas the number of Fatal accidents 'in the Royal Air Force since tile beginning of this year has been tlie' cause of eonside liable anxiety, Major U. C- Turner, the “Daily Telegraph’s’’ mviation correspondent, is able to show that the British Air Force has by far the lowest number of casualties per hour of flying of any in the world, and Dr N. A. N. Pierey lias given the Royal Society of Arts some figures illustrating the safety of' properly organised .adrial travel. In his second Howard lecture on the present position in aeronautics, I)r Piorcy stated that Imperial Airways had 'operated their “Silver Wing” sarviee 'to and ifrom Paris *wjth 94 per cent, regularity since 1924, without injury to a single passenger. In all their services the average for 1930 was one passenger fatality to 3,000,000 passe n ger-miles. Last yea* - , American lines, which claimed' more than half the .aerial travel of the world, covered J 100,000,000 passengermiles with only 26 passenger fatalities.

To reproduce the aerial average, a motor-car would require to keep up a mileage of 10,000 a year for at least three centuries for the fatal accident to its passenger to become due. Aeroplanes, continued Dr Pierey, could be broken in the air if operated savagely by wireless from the ground, for a great, though transient, load could then be thrown on the wings by flattening out- too quickly, for instance, from a dive. But a human pilot slcinsqd excessive loading fhro-ugh a proportionate increase that occurred in liis own weight. Tests .showed that no pilot cared to feel himself weigh more than a quarter of a ton, even during the. excitement of aerobatics. In manipulating the controls lie spared bis own feelings, and in doing so acted as an efficient safety valve for excessive strains on the craft. British practice allowed an exceptional margin of strength, incurring something of a handicap in world competition. Whether song l , relaxation might be permitted without effect on our high reputation was a matter For far-seeing expert enquiry. Achievement in metal construction was illustrated by the lecturer, and the dynamical stability of safe flying, in connexion With which tribute was paid to the. Handley Page slot. Its ell'ect at low speeds had been revolutionary. SERVICE MACHINES. Major C. C. Turner reports that in spite of a more than 100 per cent, increase in the number of R.A.F. squadrons in the past ten years, and a 'steady increase in the actual flying per unit, the number of accidents has not greatly increased. Such figures as are available do not corroborate an ‘American claim that the proportion of fatalities in the British service is 70 per cent, greater than in that of the United States. The British service has throughout had a better record than the French. FRENCH MINISTRY’S CLAIM. Major Turner continues: In December last, when the French ‘Air Ministry stated that in the French Military air services in 1930 there had teen one death for every 3091 hours of flying, and claimed this was a better average than that of any other country, 'the British Air Ministry maintained silence, although it could easily have shown that in the British services the amount of flying per death by accident was little less than 10,000 hours.

This fact lias come to light in a curious way. In the annual I’eport on file health of the Royal Air Force for 1921-22 the proportion of fatal accidents to flying hours was given. That was the last occasion on which the proportion had been published- But on February 24th this year Lord Ti'enchard made the following statement: “If 1929 and 1930 are taken together the figures are four times as favourable as they were in the two-year period 1921-22.” Now. the figures for this period wel'p 1921, 2100 hours; 1922, 3187 hours—a in mil of 2643 hours par fatal accident. Tt will be observed that 1922 showed a 47 per cent, improvement over the orevious year. That improvement has been almost consistently maintained ever since, and. although the precise figure is not officially published. Lord Trenchard’s statement., which, ol course, is incontrovertible, sho- s "that in the past two years the number of hours per fatal accident was about 10.000. HIGHER AMERICAN RATIO^ No figures relating to the United Pintos service, by which comparison can he made, are available. b"t i ll 1928 there were 1132 accidents of nO kinds in that service, and since the number of machines in use wa.s not more than 25 per cent., in excess of the ‘British, it is fairlv clear that the Occident ratio was higher. It n.eed hal'd!v he said that those facts a-e not divulged in order that an undul~ nnti,mistic 'lew mav ho 1 the" l - Cortninlv in the R.A.F. and in the Ah Ministrv there is no inclination to remit one iota of precautions and safeguards.