CRASH WITNESSED BY SIR KEITH SMITH.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume XLII, Issue XLII, 15 April 1922, Page 5

CRASH WITNESSED BY SIR KEITH SMITH.

A PAINFUL SCENE.

AN UNACCOUNTABLE ACCIDENT.

(Received April la, 8.55 a.m.)

LONDON,'Aprs'l3. A special representative was ?to ihavje accompanied Sir Boss Smith on liis £rst trial flight, fcut Bir Boss Smith said: "Sorry, old mat, there is no .roam. You will get a better view fkoju ifclie other plane." Me .ascended the "V-bt-non machine, wM&h kept eomjtany with Sir Ross Smith's machine. Descending j the representative and Sir Eeith Smith watched Sir Ross Smith's .aaeond fiighL When the machine developed a spinning nose dive .and became uncontrollable, Sir Keith Smith buried Ms face in his Viands and flung himself ,to earth to avoid seeing his brother .crash to his terrible fate. When the .end came he groaned: ''Its all up. Oh, my poor father and mother! This -\vM kill them..'" Then lie insisted on going across to see ifch© Avjeeakage. On tiibe way he said: "If. it had only been me instead of Boss. . If I'd only laaest there too. What a ghastly finale." Sir Ross Smith 's forehead was terribly bruised aoad tkere was a dreadful i gash on Ms left cheek. Fifty feet from the earth Sir Ross -Smith cut out the engine ami made .a great swoop like a wounded bird, toying to away. Then came the ,e»d, which %^as mereij fully hidden, from &em by a banked .racing track.

Sir Keith Smith examined the ma:ChiEe carefully after the accdent, but failed to discover the cause. He said :these spins are generally due to tail -trouble, but it was not tail -trouble -this time. Motoring b&ei: to Lendon the representative urged Sir Keith Saaitth :to give up flying. Sir Keith gave a typically gallant reply: '''We must not lose our nerve just before going up.." Sir Ross Smith ioad said; '^If anything goes wrong in the world flight don't complain or blame anyone;. It is the last thing in the world I v/ould desire. We are taking the risk, knowing the danger, and, remember, Australians never squeal Sir Keith Smith declared that Sir Eoss Smith had died as he would have desired, in harness, with' a sharp, sudden headlong dive to earth, and he was dead before he knew the bitterness of jjtffeat.

, Sir Keith Smith propose^ td take both £»odies to Australia.