RISKS OF TASMAN FLIGHT

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 241, 31 December 1927, Page 7

RISKS OF TASMAN FLIGHT

GOVT. WITHHOLDS CONSENT

REQUEST TO CALL ATTEMPT OFF

Received 12.5 p.m. MELBOURNE, To-day. THE Rt. Hon. Stanley Bruce, Prime Minister, states that he has communicated with Captain Knight advising him that the Federla Ministry does not approve of the flight to New Zealand, and requesting that no further attempt he made td carry it out.

TqR BRUCE said that when Captain

Knight presented his letter of introduction from the Rt. Hon. J. G. Coates, Mr Bruce was under the impression that the New Zealand Ministry approved of the .flight, and was asking the Commonwealth Ministry to facilitate it. In those circumstances he felt that courtesy to the Government of a sister Dominion demanded that the Australian Ministry, even if it did no tapprove of the flight, should place no obstacle in the way of its being attempted. He accordingly gave instructions to aviation authorities to give any assistance possible in assembling the machine. At the same time, he cabled the New Zealand Government, setting out the views of the Commonwealth Ministry, and conveying advice which was received from aviation experts as to the undesirability of the attempt being made with the type of machine proposed. To that message Mr. Coates replied that the New Zealand Government had made it clear that it did not approve of the type of machine selected. Those attempting the flight were doing so at. their own risk.

AMPHIBIAN NEEDED VIEWS OF EXPERTS AIRMEN ON OWN RESOURCES Press Association. DANEVIRKE, To-day. Mr. A. McNicol, trustee of the Tasman Flight Fund, states that he has received, through the courtesy of Mr. J. G. Coates, Prime Minister, cabled news from the Right Hon. G. Bruce, in which the latter stated that Austranialn experts recommended, after exhaustive inquiry, that the flight

should not be attempted save in a flying boat or machine of amphibian type.

Mr. Bruce states that his Government will take no steps to prohibit the flight authorised by the New Zealand Government.

Mr. McNicol says that the proposed flight is not authorised by the New Zealand Government, but the first step taken by the trustees was to have an assurance from the authorities here that the machine -would be afforded a sufficient margin of safety. The backers fully appreciated the motives of the Australian Government and had no desire recklessly to risk the lives of the aviators.

The first step taken by the trustees, before ordering the machine, was to receive an assurance from the New Zealand Director of the Air Service that it was thoroughly capable of the flight. The trustees further delayed ordering the machine until the cable was received on September 22 from Mr. Bruce, through the New Zealand Government, stating that the Australian Government did not prohibit flights by airplane, although not favouring them, and would render every assistance to pilots approved by the New Zealand Government with an authorised machine.

The airmen left this country equipped with all the necessary papers regarding themselves and the machine to satisfy the Australian authorities. The Australian Government generously agreed to permit the airplane in free of duty, providing it was out of the country in six months. Mr McNicol states that the position that has now arisen throws the aviators on their own resources, and this is unfair to them, in view of the assurances formerly given. He has received a cable from Lieutenant Moncrieff to the effect that the test flight was satisfactory and that he was leaving with Captain Hood for Sydney on Sunday or Monday.