Experts Inquire Into Matapiro Air Crash

Manawatu Times, Volume 63, Issue 114, 17 May 1938, Page 8

Experts Inquire Into Matapiro Air Crash

Effect of Extra Strain Put on Wings WHAT HAPPENED IN CLOUD? Per Press Association. HASTINGS, Last Night. An Inquiry into me Matapiro aero plane crash on April 18 last, as a result of which the pilot. Miss Nellie Arnott and the passenger, Robert Bowrie Arnott, were killed, opened in the Hastings Courthouse this morning. Mr W. F. Stilwell, S.M.. sat as the chairman of the board, those associated with him being Commander G. B. Bolt, chief pilot of Cook Strait Airways, and Sauadron-Leader H. B. Burrell, of the Royal New Zealand Air Force. Dr. N. A. Foden appeared for the Aii Department, and Mr W. S. Averill foi the relatives. Mr T. E. O’Dowd watchec the interests of the Hawke's Bay any East Coast Aero Club, and Mr W. E Bate the interests of Mr A. F. Bowyer the ground engineer. Owning the hearing, Dr. Foden said the Air Department put forward three possible hypotheses. The first was th« possibility of a defect in the origin;.] construction of the machine, the second the possibility of a subsequent defect after having been put into commission, and the third was that the plane might have been subjected to strain it was never intended to bear because of some faulty handling by the pilot. Gilbert Henry Trcsseder, farmer, or Crownthorpe settlement, said he was indoors when lie heard the plane above functioning all right. A second or two later he heard the unusual roar of the engine, and it was immediately after that that he heard the crash. He at tuice rushed to the scene, being the first o arrive. The wreckage suggested that .he machine had hit the ground with a .crrific impact. As he got through a plantation he noticed several pieces detached from the plane. He had moved about 300 yards when some of the lighter portions were still in the air. rhe occupants of the plane were beyond numan aid. What he had seen afterward indicated to him that the plane had been at a good height. From his experience, the terrific roar, which continued up to the time of the crash, led a.m to believe something was amiss, and aad taken him outside. After detailing the weather conditions, witness gave it 83 his opinion that the paddcck on hit property could have been used for a forced landing Groind Xngtoecr’s Evidence. The ground engineer to the Hawke’s Bay and East Coast Aero Club. Alfred Horace Bowyer, said that he had been a licenced ground engineer for 4$ years, but had prior experience wit?» aeroplane engines. Since January, 1937, he had been employed by the Hawke’s Day and East Coast Aero Club. When the machine was taken over, it had it* current certificate of air worthiness, and he had no reason to believe that It was not In good order then. So far as he was aware, there were no omissions of entries from the log-book. He knew of no knocks that the ’plane had had which would materially impair the constructional stability. The lower wings, and more particularly the aerons. had on occasions scraped the ground in a minor way, but not ro severely as to weaken the wings. Tell-tails” Had been attached to the wing tips, and these were in time knocked off, but there was nothing to indicate severe striking of the ground. Witness had at no time examined the interior structure of the wings. Right up to the day of the accident he had no reason to look for any interior defect. Witncis had never made any adjustment to the rigging. On the day of the fatality he issued a certificate of worthiness after carrying cut an exhaustive routine inspection. Disappearance of “TeU-Talls.** *tr Bate: Those “tell talei” disap peared some months ago. Witness: Yes, some time ago. And the ’plane has done a good deai of flying since then?—“Yes." The instructor to the Hawke’s Bay and East Coast Aero Club, Edgar Fran:is Harvie, said that he had held his present position since May 1, 1937. rhere had been no defect in the en;jine nature of the ’plane. His own ex perience of flying the Hornet-Moth type, extended to 202 hours, and he regarded it as a satisfactory type. The Hornet-Moth was scheduled in the normal category, which precluded the machine from performing any evolution involving abrupt changes in altitude and latitude.

Witness said that when the trainee passed from the ordinary Moth to the Hornet Moth no additional cautious were given in that the pilot should and did realise the normal precautions which had to be taken in flying generally. So far as he knew pilots trainee by him adhered strictly to ordinary flying, and did not take it on themselves to perform evolutions which they were not supposed to. At no time had he given Miss Arnott acrobatic instruction. Witness knew she was capable ot taking a machine out of a spin, and he considered she was sufficiently competent to get out of a dive. So far «a he was aware she had had no blindflying experience, and, if she found the 'plane in a cloud of some density she would be in a novel position. The machine had no right to be taken into a cloud. Theory of Accident. Witness suggested that Miss Arnott may have deliberately flown into * cioua, but misjudged its proportions. When she found after a matter of pet haps half a minute that she still hacf not emerged from the cloud, she may possibly have lost her head and tried to get cut by diving. He explained that, without blind flying instruments it was impossible to tell whether the machine was turning or not. Miss Arnott knew she should not have gone into the cloud either deliberately or unintentionally. Witness's explanation would still apply irrespective of how she came to be there. Tfye; reactions of Miss Arnott to his teaching were rather slow.

When diving in a cloud it was very difficult to judge the angle. If Miss Arnott was in a cloud witness agreed that it would be quite possible that she might attempt to dive to get out K*j always impressed on trainees the need for coming out of dives not too suddenly. Witness usually gave Individual warnings, and practical demonstrations of the dangers of flying in clouds. Miss Arnott had been warned by him concerning the danger of blind-flying

When witness visited the area aboutj half an hour after the crash, it was an area of potential danger to a pilot inI experienced in flying in clouds, if the clouds were not avoided. I To Mr. O’Dowd, witness said that if a ’plane in a dive was subjected to the sudden pulling back of the joy-stick, he considered extra strain or pressure .would be thrown on the wings. He !submitted that on almost any ’plane built to-day, if subjected to severe (stresses, the wings would be strained, 'and with that strain the wings might come off An error of judgment on the part of the pilot, Nellie Arnott, was the cause advanced by the Inspector of Air Accidents (Robert Champion McKean), lie said that from evidence that had been submitted the pilot had shown error of judgment in flying into cloud with no previous knowledge of blind flying. She had dived in an effort to avoid cloud with the engine racing and used the elevating control too suddenly, causing enormous strain on the bottom of the wing surface, in fact 16 times the normal strain and a much greater strain than the margin of safety lu any plane in the world. The machine, he contended, had then flattened out for a few moments, but when the wings had started to take the load of the machine again the starboard wing had collapsed, and the machine had dived finally to earth. He considered .the crash had occurred from a height of about 2000 feet. The board reserved its decision.