FLIGHT TO PEKIN.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LI, Issue 29, 5 January 1931, Page 7

FLIGHT TO PEKIN.

MISS AMY JOHNSON AT BERLIN,

NOT ON SECRET MISSION

BERLIN, Jan. 3

The British National Anthem and cheers greeted Miss Amy Johnson when she arrived here this evening. The British aviatrix explained that bad weather caused her to drift from the course, necessitating a descent at Luebz. A cottager in whose field she alighted, though startled, gave every assistance. She then followed the railway line.

Miss Johnson will continue her flight to Warsaw at 9 a.m. on Sunday. The Moscow Aviation and Chemical Society is fully facilitating her flight, the Smolensk and Moscow aerodromes ensuring a safe landing. Experts will advise her at all points, and a heating apparatus will be installed in the aeroplane if necessary. According to a London message, it is authoritatively denied that Miss Johnson is on an official mission. The aviatrix herself was nonplussed when a direct question was put to her at Liege. “I am doing the flight absolutely on my own and in nowise is it an official or secret mission,” Miss Johnson stated.

The mystery of the “Government work” mentioned during the motoring case has been cleared up. It appeared that she left her car unattended while she had a chat with the secretary of the Empire Marketing Board concerning trade prospects in Australia. For the defence she pleaded that she was detained by a Government official with whom she was “engaged on Government business.” The case was dismissed. It is disclosed that Miss Johnson passed with flying colours the examination for her commercial license, the hardest test an aviator can undergo, necessitating certificates from six doctors. The British United Press correspondent at Moscow says that M. Kirilov, the Soviet air chief, describes the flight as “reckless and thoughtless.” He intends to tell Miss Johnson of the tremendous difficulties ahead and the need for a special heating apparatus to prevent the engine from freezing; also that landing with skis is particularly dangerous. On the other hand, General Nobile’s rescuer, M. Chukhnovsky, is of the opinion that the transit of Siberia is not particularly dangerous, except over the eastern'wastes, where jagged ice may be met with.