UNTRUE RUMOURS

Dominion, Volume 24, Issue 62, 6 December 1930, Page 9

UNTRUE RUMOURS

Sir John Simon’s Denial

RlOl DISASTER Further Expert Evidence (Rec. December 5, 1 p.m.) British Wireless. Rugby, December 4. Certain rumours concerning the flight which the Court had thought it right to investigate were referred to to-day by Sir John Simon, who is presiding over the RlOl inquiry. The baseless character of these rumours was well illustrated by the story that Miss Winifred Spooner, the well-known airwoman, who is on the way to the Cape and. was forced down yesterday near Belmonte, had been in the RlOl, and had perished in the

crash at Beauvais. Sir John Simon called on Dr. Eckener, commander of the Graf Zeppelin, and expressed the gratitude of the Court and the British, people to him for coming to assist tbe investigations. Dr. Eckener’s Evidence. Dr. Eckener, in his statement, reviewed the facts of the disaster. He concluded that the first downward movement was caused by a gust of wind and head heaviness due to the leakage from the fore gasbag. In a sudden movement the damaged gasbag received a large rent, and the escaping gas went into the tail and increased the difficulty of righting the ship. In a second dive, due to the same causes, she crashed. He considered that the fire after the crash was probablycaused by a short-circuited wire. Dr. Eckener said that the commander would naturally have been reluctant to throw out the oil ballast until he saw that it was impossible to right the ship by putting up the elevators. Then be rightly decided to throw out the fuel and slow down the engines, but the continuous escape of gas caused a second dive and then a crash. Dr. Ekener said he thought that the coxswain going on duty at the elevator at 2 a.m. would have to feel his way into the static condition of the ship, which it was most difficult to get immediately. It might have happened that a slight gust of wind forced the ship downward, which movement the new coxswain did not immediately correctly counteract because he was not yet clear about the ship’s condition. The greater air-pressure thus brought against the airship’s nose accentuated tbe steepness of the dive, and the airship’s heaviness at the head. Squallron-Leader Booth’s Opinion.

Squadron-Leader Booth, in his evidence, agreed with Dr. Eckener’s view. He always had, he said, the opinion that something definite must have happened to the airship, notably a steep dive after the changing of the watch. He added that he did not attach importance to Disiey’s evidence yesterday, because the after-end tapered gasbag was always higher than the forward bag. He declared that he had always felt that RlOl was rushed regarding her trials by influence brought to bear. She was rushed out for the Hendon flight against Cardington’s recommendations. “I am sure she would never have set out for India if tbe Imperial Conference had not been taking place.” Sir John Simon said that current rumours that some of those on duty ' were not sober when the journey started, and that a large quantity of intoxicants was taken on board were entirely baseless.

HELPERS’ DECORATIONS London, December 4. The Paris correspondent of “The Times” says that Leech, an RlOl survivor, iourneyed by aeroplane from London to attend the presentation at Beauvais Town Hall of the decorations and gifts to persons who were prominently associated with assisting the survivors of the disaster.