ALLEN FORCED DOWN.

Press, Volume LXVII, Issue 20427, 23 December 1931, Page 11

ALLEN FORCED DOWN.

CRASH INTO ORCHARD. THE SOUTHERN STAR ! DAMAGED. MOKE WORRY FOR KINGSFORDSMITH. (UNITED PRK.SS ASSOCI.VTIOK— BY ELECTTUC TELEGRAPH— COrYIUOHT.) (Received December 22nd, 5.5 p.m.) LONDON, December* 21. Tho Southern Star, piloted by G. TJ. ("Scotty") Allen, accompanied by two passengers, including Mrs Cooper, of Southampton, flying from Hamblo after reconditioning at Croydon in readiness for the England-Australia mail flight to-morrow, tost his way in mist and made a forced landing in a , field at Crocken Kill. Kent, striking trees and damaging tho propeller and undorcarriage. Tho occupants were not injured, but were slightly shaken. An eye-witness fays it would have been a perfect landing if the trees had not intervened. The Southern Star lies in an orchard. A later report says the undercarriage is smashed, one engine is halfhurioil in the ground, and the wings are out of alignment. Tho police are guarding the wreckage throughout the night. Engineers will dismantle tho aeroplane to-morrow for repairs, which will entail complete rebuilding. Tho Post Office, has not yet arranged for tho mails to go by another aeroplane. Air Commodore C. E. KingsfordSmith had informal talks with the Air Ministry. ""* lfc is understood that owing to tho absence of Lieut.-Colonel H. C. Brinsmead (Australian Director of Civil Aviation, who was severely injured in the crash of a Dutch air liner in Siarn), no further concrete plan for a regular Anglo-Australian air service was formulated. riying In Mist. Another message reports that Allen, in tho Southern Star, left Humble at 3.30 p.m. with two hours' supply of petrol, which was normally ample for tho short flight. Darkness was setting in and lie flew into murk, in which it was impossible to see the Neon beacon at Croydon or the flares reaching 1200 ft upward, which were fired when he did not appear. Tho pilot thereupon flew ( in an east-c-rly direction, in order to come in on the Continental route. He informed Kings ford-Smith by telephone that he was flying above Orpington and his petrol was fast being consumed. He decided to land on the first seemingly level patch, but discovered it was an orchard, into which he crashed, bumping into a fairly large tree. He shut off tho engines, which are intact. Tho wheels, however, wore torn off, the undercarriage was smashed, the fuselage strained and pierced by a small tree, nnd tho propeller broken. Allen assured Kingsford-Smith there was no major damage, and that the wings were intact. Asked if he was hurt. Allen replied: You cannot hurt' a Scotsman, except his footings. Kingsford-Smith hopes that the delay will not exceed four or five davs. He is determined to get the air mail to Australia. "1 am never free from worries when on the ground," he said. "J shall be glad when lam able to rest and recover in the air." ["Scotty" Allen was the chief pilot .of the Southern Sun, which left Darwin for London on November 23rd with the Christmas air mail from Australia and New Zealand, and two passengers, including LieutenantColonel H. C. Brinsmead, Director of Civil Aviation, who undertook the trip in order to study flying conditions along the route'. The giant monoplane, however, crashed when leaving Alor Star on November 26th. Tho machine was wrecked, but none of its occupants was seriously injured, and the mails were intact. LieutenantColonel Brinsmead. who was slightly injured, proceeded by steamer to Si am, where he joined the Dutch air liner, which crashed when leaving Dorimuang. Five of its passengers were killed and Lieutenant-Colonel Brinsmead, the only survivor, suffered severe injuries, his condition for several days being critical. Immediately after the disaster to the Southern Sun. Kingsford-Smith, in the Southern Star, made an emergency flight to pick up the stranded air mail at Alor Star and take it on to England. Rto had a slight mishap at the start, the monoplane fouling a telegraph pole at Darwin when _ landing during a tlmnderstorm. KingsfordSmith presumably took Pilot Allen with him from Alor Star to Croydon.] LARGE MAIL COLLECTED. (Received December 23rd, 11.56 p.m.) LONDON, December 22. Up to last night the Post Office collected 75,000 letters for the Southern Star, which is strongly guarded against souvenir hunters.