CRASH IN FLAMES.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 50, Issue 152, 9 April 1930, Page 5

CRASH IN FLAMES.

GERMAN AIR LINER. TWO OCCUPANTS KILLED." (United Press Association —Copyright.) x LONDON, April 7. A German air liner, carrying mails from Croydon to Germany, crashed at Lympsfield, in l the Cater ham \ alley, Surrey, at 4 o’clock this morning, and the pilot and mechanic, whose names are given as Herren Wessel and Connert, and who were the only , occupants of the machine, were killed. The liner apparently burst into flames in the air, as burnt wreckage was strewn over & considerable area. .The pilot’s body had' severe burns, but the mechanic is assumed to have met death by jumping from the burning machine, which was completely destroyed. An Air Ministry official reached the scene at an early, hour, but the cause of the accident is as yet unknown. SCATTERED BY AN EXPLOSION. A DANGEROUS LOCALITY. LONDON, April 7. It is believed that the German aeroplane which crashed in Caterham Valley was returning to Croydon owing to tlie wireless having failed. In the darkness of the early morning, while seeing a landing place and firing many Verey lights, it fell in a field used for jov flying during the week-ends. The machine caught fire and an explosion followed, blowing it to so many pieces and scattering them over 100 yards. It is doubtful if the cause of the disaster will ever be discovered. The valley has a bad name and is avoided by English pilots in bad weather. Three disasters have already occurred there, with serious loss of life. Pilots when descending to avoid mists become trapped among the hills and flv blindly into the slopes.