NOTHING KNOWN

Northern Advocate, 21 May 1929, Page 5

NOTHING KNOWN

AIRMEN’S DISAPPEARANCE

GROSVENOR QUEST FUTILE

STEAMER’S VAIN VIGIL,

(Australian Press Association.) (Received 9 a.m.) SYDNEY, May 20

Captain Grosvonor, Aidc-de-Camp to the Governor of Victoria, who is engaging in aerial searches for the missing aviators, Flight-Lieutenant J, Moir and Plying-Officer H. Owen, arrived at Wyndham this evening from Port Darwin and reported that lie had seen nothing of the airmen or their plane. The Burns-Philp Company received the following radio from their island steamer Malabar today:

< ‘Am now within 40 miles of Koepang. Kept a strict masthead lookout. Examined all floating objects, but found nothing relative to the airmen.”

VERY DISQUIETING.

SIR KEITH SMITH’S VIEW,

PROPELLER CHANGE RISKY

(Australian Press Association.) (Received 9 a.m.) SYDNEY, May 20,

The aviation authorities state that Moir’s plane had petrol capacity for 16 to 24 hours’ flying, and if the same speed were maintained to- Darwin as recorded from Bima to Koepang they should have arrived at Darwin at 9.3 G on Saturday night, (Sir Keith Smith, who with the late Sir Ross Smith landed at Darwin on their flight to Australia, expresses the opinion that Moir and Owen did a dangerous tiling in -replacing the propeller with one shorter. One effect of such a change would be to “rev.” up the engine. The differentiation in speed would be particularly serious in tho event of striking head winds. Sir Keith says he does not like the look of things at all.

OTHER AID INVOKED.

BEWILDERING COASTLINE

ALL ALIKE AT NIGHT,

(Australian Press Association.) -• (Received 9.30 a.m.) SYDNEY, May 20.

Prompt action is being taken by the Commonwealth Government to search for Moir and Owen.

Amalgamated Wireless has been asked to -obtain the latest news from Dilli and Koepang.

The Portuguese and Dutch Governments have been asked to institute a search in their territories.

Weatralian Airways have been asked to search the coast between X>erby and Wyndham.

Squadron-Leader Kingsford Smith, interviewed today, said that if Moir and Owen struck the Australian coast at, night they would find the coastline so similar that they Would not know which way to turn. On: either side of Darwin there was thick jungle for many miles, but the lights of Darwin would be visible for 25 miles.

STILL SILENT.

INTERIM HALT THEORY".

(Australian Press Association.) (Received 3.20 p.m.) ADELAIDE-, This Day. There is still no news of Moir and Owen, though some hope persists that they may have landed somewhere on the north-west coast. Pilot Brain, who found the Kookaburra, believes this, and is anxious to go in search of them.