“FLIGHT A SCANDAL”

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 493, 24 October 1928, Page 9

“FLIGHT A SCANDAL”

WEALTHY AMERICAN COMPLAINS ZEPPELIN’S WILD PLUNGES (United P.A.—By Telegraph — Copyright) (.Australian and U.Z. Press Association) Reed. 1.15 p.m. LONDON, Tuesday. Frederick Gilfillen, a wealthy American, who was a passenger in the Graf Zeppelin on its flight across the Atlantic, returned by the Mauretania to-day. He denounces the flight as a scandal. Fifty times or more, he said, the Zeppelin made a sudden plunge down toward the sea, after which it would painfully climb to a safe height. The passengers thought they would never arrive. The administration was shocking. There was insufficient food and wine. Passengers suffered the greatest discomforts, and were flung about the ship like ninepins. There was only one parachute, and no other safety appliance. He expressed the opinion that the airship would have been without passengers altogether had anyone realised the grave danger. He was not allowed to use his camera, and had to sign an agreement to say nothing about the flight until a considerable time had elapsed. He described Lady Hay as a "brave little sport.”