FREIGHT PLANE GROUNDED

Press, Volume XCI, Issue 27614, 22 March 1955, Page 7

FREIGHT PLANE GROUNDED

Bristol Company’s Advice MINOR MODIFICATIONS TO BE MADE (New Zealand Press Association) WELLINGTON, March 21. One of two Bristol Freighter aircraft operated by Straits Air Freight Express, Ltd., for the Cook Strait railair goods service has been grounded because of “suspected structural weaknesses.” The Bristol Aeroplane Company in Britain had advised that all Freighter and Wayfarer aircraft that had flown more than 4000 hours be grounded. A cabled message from London quotes a spokesman for the company as saying that a recent Wayfarer crash in West Africa, in which 13 persons were killed, had some bearing on the grounding. Some modification of wing structure might be needed. The Director of the Civil Air Administration (Mr A. E. Gibson) said today that Straits Air Freight had voluntarily grounded its one Bristol • affected by the maker’s advice, even before the official request was received by the administration. He understood the Bristol affected had done several hundred more hours than the 4000 hours named in the instruction. The aircraft was now under examination, and he believed one or two minor modifications were being made. The Air Secretary (Mr B. Rae) said on Saturday that the eight Bristol aircraft operated by the Royal New Zealand Air Force were not affected by the instruction, as none had flown 4000 | hours. The total for the oldest aircraft would be about only 1500 hours.