AIR TRAGEDY.

Taranaki Daily News, 24 February 1922, Page 5

AIR TRAGEDY.

DISASTER TO DIRxGIBLE. THIRTY-FOUR KILLED. FURTHER PARTICULARS. By Telegraph—Preu Aun Copyright. Received Feb. 23, 7.40 p.m. Washington, Feb. 22. A Norfolk telegram reports that all the bodies have been recovered from the dirigible Roma, which, crashed and exploded. Thirty-four were killed, eight injured and three unhurt.—Aus.-N.Z. Cable Assn. New York, Feb. 21. fhe airship Roma was commanded by Captain Mabry, who perished with .the others. The Roma had a capacity of 1,100,000 cubic feet, and dames from the" ignition prevented persons beneath the wreckage escaping. The effects of the fire made it difficult to identify the bodies that were recovered. Survivors told how the craft refused to keep her nose in the air and kept heading doWnwards. When she struck a cable charged with 2300 volte of electricity she collapsed and burned. The death list includes men prominently identified with army aviation, inculding two majors, five captains and seven lieutenants of aviation. The accident to the Roma occurred when the vertical controls carried away •nd the airship, crashing downward, struck a network of highly-charged electric wires, causing a deafening roar as the ship exploded. When it collapsed it fell nose first, Spectators saw two men jump from the airship about 200 feet in the air. It is announced that the flight was the first trial since the installation of Liberty motors in place of the Italian engines, with which the ship was originally equipped. The Italian motors caused trouble, and Lioerty motors replaced them. Thirty-three bodies have been recovered from the Roma wreck. Identification is impossible. Three escaped with minor injuries and eight with serious injuries. Lieut. Burt, fhe pilot, jumped overboard and escaped with an injured wrist. He believes the rudder shifted sideways, causing a perpendicular nose dive. The engines functioned properly. There was no explosion till she struck the voltage wire®. Eye-witnesses below confirm the statement about the shifting of the gudder.

VIEWS OF SENATORS. Washington, Feb. 22. While an army court of inquiry ia investigating the Roma disaster at Norfolk, numerous Senators are making a strong demand that all appropriations for army and naw dirigibles be stopped immediately. LOSS OF THE R3B. BRITISH DISASTER RECALLED. CAUSE OF THE ACCIDENT. Received Feb. 23. 10.25 p.m. New York, Feb. 23. The Times’ Washington correspondent states that a report submitted to the British Air Ministry in London by the aeronautical research committee declares the loss of the dirigible R3B in August. 1921, wan due to structural weakness in design; also that the R3JJ was considerably weaker than the R 33, a smaller airship. No calculation was made of the aerodynamic force to which the airship would be subjected, and the calculations made by the British design staff were misleading. Neither weather nor faulty material caused the accident. The re port ha* not been published in Lou<lon, being held there as confidential, a copy of which was obtained by the Times. — AU3--N.Z. Cable Aasn.