INQUIRY INTO CRASH.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 62, Issue 306, 8 October 1942, Page 4

INQUIRY INTO CRASH.

FINDING OF R.A.F. COURT. PLANE OUT OF ITS COURSE. (Rec. 10.50 a.m.j LONDON, Oct 7. The Secretary of State for Air (Sn Archibald Sinclair) announced in tne Royal Air Force court of inquiry into House of Commons the findings of the the crash of a Sunderland aeroplane bn August 15, when the Duke of Kent lost liia life. The ; Court stated that before departure the correct procedure for briefing the captain, as to his exact route and providing full meteorological information, was complied with. Local conditions were not good at the time cf the take-off, but general indications showed the likelihood, of an improvement westward. The captain of the aircraft was a pilot of long experience on the particular type of aircraft he was flying that day and of exceptional ability. .Abut half-an-hour after the take-off the plane was heard approaching the- land from the sea at what appeared to he a log height and shortly afterwards it was heard to crash into the hills.; . The Court found: firstly, that the accident occurred because the aircraft was flown on a track other than that indicated on the flight plan given to the pilot and at too low an altitude to clear the rising ground on the tract; secondly, the responsibility for the serious mistake in airmanship lies with the captain of the aircraft; thirdly, the weather encountered should have presented no difficulties to-an experienced pilot; fourthly, examination of the propellors showed that the engines were under power 1 when the aircraft struck the ground; fifthly, in accordance with the King’s Regulations and the Air Council’s instructions all the occupants of the aircraft were on duty at the-time of the accident. The chief inspector of. accidents was in agreement with the findings of the Court.—British Official Wireless.