STRUCTURE BROKE

Auckland Star, Volume LXI, Issue 237, 7 October 1930, Page 7

STRUCTURE BROKE

CAUSE OF DISASTER. Parts of Airship Found Five Miles from Wreck. ! EXPERT. * DEFINITE. (United P.A.—Electric Telegraph-Copyright) (Received 10.30 a.m.) LONDON, October 6. ( The fact that oil was found a considerable distance from the airship proves that some might have been dropped in an attempt to lighten the ship at the last minute in an endeavour to gain altitude. The inquiry has opened at Beauvais. Air Commodore Holt" stated that the definite cause of the accident .was the breakage of the structure, not motor failure. Parts were found which fell five miles from the wreck, which indicate that something happened five or ten minutes before the crash. An official statement issued by the Air Ministry says a representative Joint Committee of English and French experts will start collecting -evidence about the RlOl disaster to-day at Alloime. There is reason to suppose that no explosion occurred till after the airship had touched the ground. The Air Ministry also announce that a public inquiry will be held in England, subject to co-ordination with the arrangements the French Government is making. Major J. P. C. Cooper, inspector of accidents to the Air Ministry, arrived on the scene of the disaster yesterday afternoon, as also did, Squadron-Leader R. S. Booth, captain 'of ,jthe RIOO, the chief draughtsman of the RlOl, the shed manager at Cardington and other experts. Aeronautical experts are engaged in speculation as to the cause of the disaster, -which came just when airship development was considered to have reached an era of safety, which would enable dirigibles to be of commercial value throughout the Empire. A searching inquiry will follow, but it is doubtful if the cause of the disaster will ever be known, as the officers and experts, whose airship knowledge was unsurpassed, are dead. Among many puzzling features is why the ship was flying so low. "The higher the safer," is an aeronautical rule in stormy weather. Reports that the ship was not riding on an even keel indicate that there must have been some difficulty, but curiously there was no mention of this in the last wireless message sent from the airship before the crash. Problem of Low Altitude. However, it is regarded as in no way t improbable that the recent addition of a complete new bay made at Cardington might have affected the airship's air worthiness. It is a possibility that the commander, finding himself in a storm centre, decided to keep low and slow down the ship, then drifted and suddenly struck an air pocket. The terrific pressure on the bottom and the rear probably threw the elevators out of action and the craft's nose was forced down. It is recalled that the RIOO, on the way to Canada, was struck by a variation of pressure and suddenly rose a few thousand feet. The pressure, however, caught the whole ship and not merely the tail, as seems to have been likelv in the case of the RlOl.

The "Daily Herald's'" aviation writer comments, on the surprisingly low altitude of the RlOl at the time of the disaster. He says it was probab'y on the advice of the navigator, who may. have thought the storm was less violent lower down. When the hill loomed up an attempt to force up the nose of the airship may have imposed a sudden strain which was too much for the elevators, and caused tie tail to collapse. The disaster was extraordinary in another respect, says the writer. The ship carried 20 tons of fuel and several tons of water ballast. A movement o* two or three levers in the control cabin woiud have jettisoned the lot and the ship would have instantly shot up several thousand feet. The latest messages considerably strengthen the belief that the airship was losing altitude. It is understood that she wirelessed to.Cardington to that effect iust after passing Beauvais. Her message also stated that when she was over Beauvais a great deal of water ballast was dumped. The loss of altitude, whatever the cause, seems to have led to the crash. The cause of the fire aftprwarde is a matter of conjecture. Previous Trouble. The aviation writer of the "Daily Express" reveals the details of an alarming experience which overtook the RlOl difring a flight over Hendon at the air pageant in July when she was making her first public appearance He says the officials carefully concealed the fact that disaster almost ended the career of the ship that day. Directly the RIOI left Hendon, says the correspondent, the officers discovered that she continued to lose height. IJie crew found the small gasbags chafing against the metal framework A senior officer ordered all speed back to Caiand the ship returned safely. The airship was saved only by the swift action of the commander, FlightLieutenant H. C. Irwin, who dumped all the water ballast and two tons of heavy oil fuel and employed every other possible means of reducing weight. • .One theory about yesterday's disaster points to a recurrence of the same trouble says the writer. He adds that has changed the entire, line of the inquality of fuel in order to lighten her. Experts have been scouring the countryside since daylight to find evidence I this point. Aerial photographs of Z wreck-which was so sudden that one of the engineers who was burned Sost to a cinder was still clutching a sSer-show the airship with her Slope stripped off like, a -twisted skeleton of a giant whale. Dr Eckener, commander of the Graf Zeppelin, said he could not imagine the RlOl encountering rain of sufficient weight to force her down to the ground. The°Graf Zeppelin on her South American trip had encountered the heaviest rain he had ever experienced, yet he had to us© only 50 per cent of the crafts lifting-power to offset the effect of the rain.