PILOT’S ERROR OF JUDGMENT

Southland Times, Issue 24839, 3 September 1942, Page 5

PILOT’S ERROR OF JUDGMENT

Crash Of Airways Liner (P.A.) WELLINGTON, Sept. 1. The board of inquiry set up to inquire into the loss of the Union Airways Lockheed aircraft in the crash on Mount Richmond on May 7 has reported on the cause of the accident. It says, in part:— “The evidence now available, but not available to the pilot at the time, clearly establishes that the wind condition and velocity over the latter half of the flight existed in an exceptional and unascertained degree beyond what the pilot might anticipate from the forecast. Consequently we have drawn the conclusion that his ground speed was retarded beyond his expectation and that when he thought he was turning towards the south and approaching the aerodrome, he was in reality short of that point and struck the mountain. In view of unknown factors and other circumstances, which must have been known to him at the time, we consider that not later than 8.19 a.m. Commander K. R. Johnston should have attempted to bear to the north in order to regain his track and remove any possibility of danger from the high country further south. In our view his failure to turn north was an error of judgment on the part of the pilot.” BOARD’S RECOMMENDATIONS The board made the following recommendations: That there should be.reorganization in respect to control of these stations with a view to unification of control and the provision of recognized and efficient training of officers; that the calibration of direction findfrig stations should be completed and stations when calibrated should be cleared for general use at the earliest

possible date; that the company should insist on pilots arriving not less than 15 minutes before the scheduled time of departure of any commercial flight; that personnel employed for recording weather data should be sufficiently experienced to justify confidence in their observations. The Minister of Defence, the Hon. F. Jones, said that action had already been taken in providing for the additional training of radio operators for the direction finding service, and consideration ’ was being given to the board’s recommendation concerning the provision of unified control of direction finding stations. The calibration of all the main direction finding stations had now been completed and they would be cleared for general use as soon as possible. The Minister said that other factors, including the training and testing of air line pilots in blind approach technique and the provision of efficient ground control, had to be taken into consideration before calibrated direction finding stations could be used with safety for blind approach. Union Airways had agreed to give immediate consideration to the recommendation concerning the arrival time of pilots at an aerodrome. Concerning meteorological observers, the Minister said that in many cases they were employees of the operating companies and not cf the Air Department. Instruction had been given to company employees by meteorological officers of the department. When qualified control officers were appointed it was intended that they should be made responsible for furnishing meteorological reports.