FAINT S.O.S. SIGNALS FROM AEROPLANE.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVII, Issue 238, 8 October 1936, Page 7

FAINT S.O.S. SIGNALS FROM AEROPLANE.

ON TIMOR ISLAND?

Forced Down on First Hop Of Flight to England.

DIRECTION WIRELESS CLUE. United Press Association.—Copyright. (Received 11 a.m.) DARWIN, this day. It was feared that Lord Sempill's aeroplane, the Croydon Monospar, which left here yesterday on an attempt to make a record dash to England, had been forced down in the Timor Sea. The Government patrol boat Larrakia was dispatched to search for it. The machine took off from Darwin at 4.50 a.m. (local time) and after 14 hours of grave anxiety for the safety of the crew feeble S.O.S. messages were received, between 9 and 10 o'clock last night, Darwin time. So faint were the messages that it was difficult to make anything of them except that they were S.O.S. signals. A bearing was taken on the directional wireless apparatus at the Royal Australian Air Force station, Darwin, and this gave their position as on Timor Island, about 60 or 70 miles from Koepang. It is assumed the 'plane was sending the messages from the beach and that the crew were generating power by hand. The word "batteries" was heard in one message, and it is believed the 'Plane's batteries are failing. Weak messages were still being received at midnight. Island Fruitlessly Searched. No trace of the machine has been found in the whole of Timor Island. The Government boat Merel is engaged on a search in the Timor Sea. The pilot of the aeroplane, Mr. H. Wood, is accompanied by the designer of the machine, Mr. F. F. Crocombe, an engineer, Mr. L. Davies, and a radio operator, Mr. C. P. Gilroy. The machine had a load of 11,3001b, chiefly petrol and spare parts. Mr. Wood had planned to reach Singapore, 2347 miles from Darwin, yesterday and had promised his crew to have lunch in London on Sunday. The machine was last seen 450 miles from Darwin. Mr. Wood intimated before he took off that he intended to have breakfast at Koepang about 7.30 a.m. The radio directional station at Darwin heard the last weak signal from the 'plane when the machine was about 70 miles from the coast of Koepang. A Quantas mail 'plane, with British mails, left Koepang at 12.45 p.m. for Darwin and wirelessed that no eign of the Croydon Monospar had been seen over the Timor Sea.