THE SUN Stop Press

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 845, 13 December 1929, Page 1

THE SUN Stop Press

REDUCTION IN DEFENCE CANBERRA. Today. Financial provisions for Australian defence services, excluding war services, for the year, total £4,513,500. These provision, in /the aggregate, represent material reductions compared with recent years. Naval services are considerably curtailed, but important increases to air and army defence havti been hiade. FLYING-BOAT TRAGEDY The funerals of the victims of the fiyi ng-boat tragedy will take place tomorrow afternoon. A service will be held at St. Mary's Cathedral. The time has not yet been definitely fixed.

less. The wing, which in this type of plane, passes across above the cockpit was crushed down and a large boulder was wedged underneath. Finally the twisted metalwork was wrenched aside, a section of the wing lifted, and the bodies taken to a shed after which they were taken to the city mortuary. It was found that both men had been severely cut and bruised about the face, while their legs were injured where they were caught by the wreckage on the floor. Major L. M. Isitt, officer commanding the Hobsonville Air Base, arrived as the machine was being hauled from the water. He announced that an inquiry will be held in addition to the inquest. Half an hour after the aeeident Mr. Douglas Mill flew over the scene in his Moth and made a perfect landing on the beach. He did what he could to assist and took off once more before dusk fell. MORBID COLLECTORS A guard was mounted over the wrecked machine, but this did not prevent morbid souvenir-hunters from collecting every scrap of wreckage that lay near or was easily detachable. Attempts at a continuance of this unpleasant hobby continued today. At an early hour this morning Major Isitt, accompanied by an expert from the airdrome, returned to Milford, drained the petrol out of the tanks, began dismantling the engine, and made a preliminary examination of the machine. The Dornier-Libelle is completely wrecked, the prow and front portion of the cockpit being terribly crushed, almost as though the machine had struck a stone wall. The greatest force of the impact had been taken by the prow, which is buckled back into a mass of shapeless metal. One blade of the propeller is snapped off short, but the engine appears to be unharmed. The wing to the pilot’s left is undamaged, except for buckling and breakage along the front edge, but the two metal struts are twisted and carried away. The other end of the wing is crushed down, the struts being broken. One stub wing is completely crushed. A TOTAL WRECK In the cockpit the dash-board is twisted and broken, while the controls are now part of the mass of twisted wreckage on the floor. The seats are forced back and the sides buckled. Only the trim blue and white lines of the tail remain intact. A cursory examination shows that no mechanical defect appeared to have developed in the controls and wires. “The machine is a total wreck, although the engine appeared to be all right,” said Major Isitt. “The wreckage will have to be examined more carefully, but I do not think that any mechanical defect is present. The plane stalled on the turn, and dived.” A STALLING TURN ! “I suppose we can only regard it as another of those mysteries which surround so many aircraft disasters,” said Captain W. Man, chief pilot to the Aerial Services, Ltd., when interviewed this morning. “It is difficult to say just what happened. The flying-boat had two sys- ; terns of fuel feed, and it is likely that when finding trouble with one system, Captain Harkness endeavoured to change over, and in doing so the machine lost its flying speed on a turn and went into a spin. If the engine was not going well, as so many witnesses of the disaster have said, it is then quite feasible that the pilot did try to change over to the other system of fueling. The boat was not fitted with the slotted wing device, but even if it had been it would have made little difference, as the slots are not as applicable to the flying-boat as the ordinary light airplane. For a stalling turn in a flying-boat a pilot would require about 2,000 feet to have any chance of averting a crash. It was possible that -when the machine stalled an attempt was being made to turn for a landing. Owing to unfavourable weather conditions the machine had not been used for some time, and on various occasions a little engine trouble had been experienced. Although Captain Harkness was an experienced land-

plane pilot, yesterday was the first occasion that he had piloted a flyingboat or seaplane. There is a vast difference between the flying of a land plane and a flying-boat, the former being much easier to manoeuvre. “I am most emphatic about the fact that both the pilot and passenger were knocked unconscious as soon as the machine hit the water, and some of the tales to be heard round the beach are far from being believable,” continued Captain Man. CROWD’S BEHAVIOUR “I have been connected with similar experiences all over the world, including many half-civilised foreign countries, but never before have 1 seen such a disorderly crowd a,s stood on Milford Beach last evening and hampered the progress of bringing the wrecked craft in,” said Captain Man. “Many were abusive and rowdy, and refused to stand back when endeavours were being made to get the bodies from the machine. It reflects very gravely upon parents responsible for the bringing up of those children, while many of the grown-ups lacked all reason and decency. As a rule British crowds are noted for being reserved and orderly under such circumstances, but last evening it was difficult to realise that those people were British.” WRECK DISMANTLED This morning the wrecked machine was dismantled and brought over to the City on a motor-lorry. It is held that the plane itself is damaged beyond repair, but it may be possible to make further use of the engine. The crankcase oil-filler cover was taken from the machine as it was towed ashore last evening. Captain Man announces that he is keen to recover this, as it is considered to be a most important part of the engine. An inquest will be opened this afternoon before Mr. F. K. Hunt, S.M., coroner, who viewed the bodies at the morgue this morning. The coroner has ordered a close examination of the bodies.

ALL-METAL MACHINE

FIRST DORNIER IMPORTED TO NEW ZEALAND PLANS OF COMPANY The Dornier-Libelle flying-boat—the first of its kind imported into New Zealand—is an all-metal monoplane built by the Dornier Company, designers and builders of the giant 12engined Dornier X flying-boat which completed successful tests on the Continent with a load of 150 passengers. The machine had a British Cirrus 111. engine, and was assembled last month at Auckland, after being imported at a cost of about £1,400 by Aerial Services, Limited, which planned a regular service and aerial surveying and photography. The company was registered this week with a capital of £1.750, the subscribers being Messrs. E. IV. and D. E. Harkness, 600 shares; P. G. Harkness, 300 shares; Robert Burns and H. R. Burrett, 100 shares, and G. Watt, 50 shares. Captain Harkness told a friend on Wednesday that the machine was to be flown to Rotorua tomorrow, to cater for holiday business in flights from the lake. “He told me the plane would make flights over the Bay of Plenty and to Taupo, and asked me if I knew anyone who might care to be a passenger on the trip from Auckland to Rotorua."