LOST “TRADEWIND”

Hawera Star, Volume L, 15 January 1931, Page 5

LOST “TRADEWIND”

FLIGHT ACROSS ATLANTIC. DAMAGE EARLY IN JOURNEY. (United »• - Assceui .-ii- By Electric Telrtiaph Copyright.; THE A A ORES, Jan. 13. Lieut. MacLaren and Mrs Hart, w r lio arc overdue in the ’plane "Tradewind” at the Azores from Bermuda and Hampton Roads, Virginia, and are believed to have fallen in the Atlantic 20 miles from St. Michael’s Island, left Hamilton, Bermuda, at noon on Saturday. They were attempting to fly across the Atlantic from America to Paris to prove that such flights were a commercial possibility. Mrs Beryl Hart, a widow, aged 2<, was one ot r.ne few women holding an unlimited transport license. The monoplane made a previous flight, leaving Virginia on January 4. The destination was Paris, via Bermuda and the Azores, but after reaching a spot believed to be only 75 miles from Bermuda they were compelled to return. They landed at Norfolk (Virginia) in the evening. Damage to the sextant made further navigation uncertain. It was planned to stop three hours at Hamilton (Bermuda), and the fliers hoped to reach Paris within 50 hours. The cargo was destined for stamp collectors along the way. The aeroplane was a black and white Bellanca monoplane similar to the Columbia, which has twice flown the Atlantic, and was fitted with a 300-h.p. Wright Whirlwind motor and a pontoon. There was no radio. Besides the damaged sextant a shift in the wind encountered within a few miles of Bermuda caused the failure of the first flight. The ’plane was forced to turn hack and landed more than 15 hours after the take-off.