British Flying Tragedy

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 851, 20 December 1929, Page 9

British Flying Tragedy

PLANE CRASHED IN STORM

Disaster Near Tunis KING’S MESSAGE OF SYMPATHY British Oj) icial Wireless Received 11.25 a.m. RUGBY, Thursday. IN the House of Commons, Mr. F. Montague, Under-Secre-tary for Air, stated that he was not yet in a position to add materially to the information already published about the most regrettable disaster on the long-distance flight to Capetown. The reports so far received from the British ConsulGeneral at Tunis stated that the Fairey-Napier machine crashed in hills some 30 miles south of Tunis. The weather at times had been both cloudy and stormy.

A military guard has been placed over the machine, and the ConsulGeneral left at dawn this morning for the scene of the accident, with a view to obtaining the fullest possible information, and bringing the bodies to the military hospital at Tunis. The Ministry had already dispatched a technical adviser to Tunis, in order that the fullest expert inquiry practicable might be made on the spot. Pending receipt of the report by the technical adviser, no cause could be assigned for the accident. Mr. Montague added that the responsible French authorities had given the greatest possible assistance. He was sure the whole House would join with him in deploring the loss of the lives of two gallant officers of such outstanding promise, and in conveying to their relatives an expression of the most profound sympathy of the House. It is stated at the Air Ministry that, while ,a representative of the Ministry has already left for Tunis to investigate the cause of the disaster, it is not likely that a formal service Court of Inquiry will be held, in view of the special circumstances in which the disaster occurred. In regard to the removal of the machine and engine, no decision can be taken until further details are received. Among air experts, little doubt is felt that the disaster occurred some time before eight o’clock on Tuesday evening. This calculation is based on the facts that the airmen reported their position by wireless at 4 o’clock,

when they were 60 miles off Sardinia, and should have sent out another message four hours later. They crashed before four hours had elapsed, but meanwhile they had covered some 400 miles. Darkness would have fallen before S o’clock, and all the circumstances point to the machine getting off its course in the storm that was raging, and crashing into the mountains, without the pilots being able to see the high ground in front of them. The King has sent the following message to Lord Thomson, Secretary for Air:—

“It is with much regret that I learned of the disaster to the monoplane near Tunis, resulting in the death of the two pilots, SquadronLeader Jones-Williams and FlightLieutenant Jenkins, and I join the Royal Air Force in mourning the loss of two distinguished and gallant officers. Please convey to their families my sincere sympathy.” LOST FRENCHMEN Reed. 10 a.m. PARIS, Thursday. No news has been received of Lasalle and his companions, Robard and Faltot, since they left Tunis for Benghazi. The French Air Ministry announces that inquiries in Libya and Eg.pt have thus far proved fruitless.