FATAL AEROPLANE CRASH

Press, Volume LXX, Issue 21289, 8 October 1934, Page 19

FATAL AEROPLANE CRASH

EVIDENCE AT INQUEST VICTIMS OF ACCIDENT ON MOI'NT l-XMONT U-Hilba i**UI.U"IIOi; TELEGRAM.) NEW PLYMOUTH, October 6. An inquest into the deaths of S. J. Gieen and J. A. Austin, who were killed in an aeroplane disaster on the .slopes of Mount Egmont on September 13. was hold to-day, before Mr W. H. Woodward, coroner. Green was the pilot of the aeroplane, and Austin his passenger, was a photographer. Both lived in New Plymouth. Dr. H. P. Grey, who was a member of the search party, said that the death of both victims was instantaneous, due to head injuries. It was not necessary to undo the safety belts, as both were broken. I Robert Burrows, nf Kaimiro. a I fanner and trapper, said that about j 12.;;0 p.m. he heard an aeroplane \ which sceme.l from the sound to be j Hying in a norma! manner. Soon afler- ! wards the engine seeme/1 to be shut i of] for a few seconds and fhen re- : .started, when it misfired badly and j bark-fired. It seemed to back-fire for i some time and then stop. Almost sm- | mediately afterward a crash was I heard. Witness's son went to tele- ; phone the police from Kaimiro while i lie tried to find the aeroplane but faiied before nightfall. He had not seen the aeroplane before the crash as he was in dense bush. furrows was not sure pf the direction of the wind, which was blowing at (ho time. The aeroplane was considerably higher than usual for that locality. Lan Keith, chief instructor for the Western Federated Aero Club, said he tested the mnchuie on the morning of the crash, and paid particular attention to the engine, which had been overhauled and checked again after a te.!. Green, before leaving with Austin on the photographic trip, mentioned that he intended to fly at least 12.000 feet. Witness made special remarks to Green concerning flying too close to the mountain, and also about care in keeping the engine warm. Green said In ha' had one fright previously, caused by a down draught, and would always guard against that. Finally, Keith mentioned what to do in the event of engine trouble. The weather and flying conditions (hat day were good. Keith said he had flown past the mountain hundreds of times, in all kinds of weather, and had not met unusually bumpy conditions. Keith was perfectly satisae4

/* witii Die condition of the machine. ''[Green was a skilled pilot, who made J trips before with Austin. lon Anderson, a mechanic, also gave evidence as to the perfect condition of the engine. Examination of Wreckage Squadron Leader L. M. Isitt. who examined the wreckage two days after ihe crash, said it was evident from the marks on the trees that (lie dive was south-west, but with the possibility of a spin, but the effect on the path of the aeroplane could not be calculated. The crash occurred on a steep hillsido, with a grade of one in three. It appeared that the machine was m a right-hand vertical bank • when the final tree was struck. ; All the control cables of the aero- - plane were broken with the exception of the upper and right-hand elevator • control cables. The win as were I smashed beyond identification and in- > struments were so badly damaged that i nothing could be learned from them. Thj aeroplane had apparently been well maintained. - There was a conflicting of evidence • whether the pilot's belt had been im- • done or was fastened. The engine was ■ tree of wreckage and .the crankshaft turned over by hand. There was noth- ; nig. to indicate engine failure which ■ was not necessarily a cause of an acci- ' dent, though a contributing factor. The machine had been in good eoncition as far as the records indicated He considered that a fair test had been given tlie machine before leaving the aerodrome on the morning of the fatality and thai it was in fit condition : for a flight. Witness concluded that all that could 1 be said was that the machine mun i have been out of control when it I struck the ground. There were ihrcc ' causes of this:. (1) A pilot's error of Judgment; (2) structural failure or jambing of the controls: (3) incaoacity of the pilot through fainting. The coroner returned a verdict that the cause of death was injuries according to the medical evidence, but that there was insufficient evidence to j determine the cause of the accident