TASMAN FLYERS

Dominion, Volume 24, Issue 241, 8 July 1931, Page 8

TASMAN FLYERS

Possible Clue to Mystery; PLANE FABRIC FOUND By Telegraph—Press Association. Groymouth, July 7. A piece of aeroplane fuselage fabric, sft. 4in. by 2£t. Bin., was found at the top of the terrace at Gladstone Siding, an unfrequented spot seven miles south of Greymouth. The fabric has been exposed to the weather for a long time, and the edges have rotted. In the centre of the fabric Is painted in black the figure 6 and part of another numeral, apparently 7, appears before the 6. The Gladstone theory is that it may have some connection with the aeroplane the -Aotea-Roa in which Hood and Moncrleff were lost when they made their attempt to fly from Australia to New Zealand. REGISTRATION MARKINGS None of the photographs available at present show the registration markings of the Aotea-roa. It was a Ryan monoplane, imported from America, and would probably have its American registration painted on the wing. America and Germany are the only countries of the world in which the registration markings are numbers instead of letters, and there is a possibility that the Australian registration was never painted on the machine before it left. If it was, it would be shown on both wings and fuselage, whereas American registrations are painted on the wings, but not on the body of the machine. Photographs examined last evening showed the side of the machine bare, but lettering may have been added after the picture was taken. But why should a piece of fabric be the sole remnant pf the machine? If the Aotea-roa landed in New Zealand, it might be expected to be found in its entirety. •