AUSTRALIAN AIR CRASH

Evening Star, Issue 23099, 27 October 1938, Page 11

AUSTRALIAN AIR CRASH

SEVERE CRITICISM OF AUTHORITIES NON-FUNCTIONING OF BEACON PILOTS WANT INQUIRY INTO ADMINISTRATION ' Press Association—By Telegraph—Copyright MELBOURNE. October 26. The newspapers are publishing severe criticism of the Federal authorities who were responsible for the non-function-ing of the Lorenz beacon, which, if working, would, it is claimed, assuredly have saved the Kyeema from disaster. Mr G. A. Robinson, managing director of Airlines of Australia, to-day revealed that pilots had actually brought airliners home to Mascot from Adelaide and Brisbane on the Lorenz beacon, and voted it 100 per cent, efficient, but after that experiment it bad been switched off apparently to aid the Civil Aviation Department’s own official tests in its own time. Mr K. M. Fremin (president of the Institute of Air Pilots) said: “We know what caused the accident. What we want is an inquiry into the policy and administration which made an accident of this kind not only possible but likely to occur again at any time.” IDENTIFICATION DIFFICULTIES REMAINS OF AIRLINER BURNED. , MELBOURNE, October 26. Identification of the 18 bodies in the Kyeema disaster was begun to-day at the' Melbourne Morgue. Considerable difficulty was experienced in identifying at least five of them. Mr Hawker’s relatives declined a State funeral. The remains of the airliner were completely burned to-day by tho police in order to remove all trace from crowds. The Kyeema was insured for £25,000.

INVESTIGATING COMMITTEE A REVOLUTIONARY DEPARTURE. CANBERRA, October 27. (Received October 27, at 11 a.m.) The Government has decided to make a-revolutionary change in the constitution of the committee which will investigate the Kyeema disaster. The Attorney-General (Mr Menziesl announced that because of the special circumstances involved in the disaster a leading barrister and a highly qualified technical aviation expert not connected with the Civil Aviation Department would be added to the membership of the committee. The-inquiry would assume the same position as a court of law.