LOST PROPELLER

Evening Post, Volume CXXXV, Issue 77, 1 April 1943, Page 4

LOST PROPELLER

SEARCH FOR CAUSE

On December 21 the two-engined passenger plane KZ—AGP, operated by Air Travel (N.Z.), Ltd., while flying over the sea off Hokitika, lost a propeller and descended into the water, tour passengers losing their . lives. A main purpose of the Court of Inquiry (Mr. F. W. Stilwell, S.M., and Squadron Leaders Makgill and Bolt), which has held a number of sittings in the South Island and in Wellington, has been to determine • the cause of the loss of the propeller. Yesterday, at the final sitting at which evidence will be heard, a new. aspect was given the inquiry by tlie evidence of Squadron Leader H. T. Grigg, deputy director of repair and maintenance, R.N.Z.A.F. He referred to other instances of failure of holding bolts on similar propellers and their relation to climatic, conditions. A main cause, in the opinion of the technical section, was that shrinking of the Wooden proEeller boss under conditions of low umidity resulted in some looseness of the holding bolts and in consequence to the imposition of shear loads-upon the bolts.

Flight Lieutenant Seelye gave evidence of the high humidity common to Hokitika.

Captain J. C. Mercer, managing director of the airline company, said that the company had never had advice of cases of the propeller trouble mentioned by Squadron Leader Grigg. Though high humidity was general at Hokitika there were rapid changes in climatic conditions ort the route covered by the company's machines, as between Hokitika and NelsOn.

The Court will make its conclusions known: to 'the responsible