LOST MONOSPAR

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXX, 17 December 1936, Page 7

LOST MONOSPAR

REPORT OF COMMITTEE APPORTIONING THE BLAME (United Press Association— By Electric Telegraph—Copyright) (Received 17th December, 9.45 a.m.) MELBOURNE, 16th December.

The Air Accidents Investigation Committee blames both the crew of the machine and the Royal Australian Air Force wireless operator at Darwin for the loss of the Croydon Monospar between Darwin and Koepang on 7th October. The Committee criticised the pilot and wireless operator of the ’plane for using radio bearings from Darwin because they knew they were subject to large errors during the dark hours and for about an hour before and after sunrise and sunset. In allicating the blame, the Committee charges the crew with negligence in making their arrangements before leaving Darwin in that they took no steps to correct an error of about ten degrees, which they knew their compass had shown on the flight to Australia. Because the operators at Darwin knew the limitations of their apparatus, they should not have agreed to give the bearings when they did.

FINDINGS CRITICISED UNWARRANTED ASPERSIONS ON FINE NAVIGATOR (Received 17th December, 10.20 q.m.) LONDON, 16th December. Mr Crocombe, designer of the Monospar, and a member of Lord Sempill’s party, commenting on the Investigation Committee’s findings, told the Australian Associated Press: “We must accept the finding as final. We naturally have our own thoughts, having sat in the middle of the ocean for so long. We regret the unwarranted aspersions on a fine navigator like Wood. The Darwin station might well pack up if its bearings are subject to unreliability. The Committee ignores the fact that we were unaware of our compass error. It was troublesome earlier, but there was no justification for allowing for the error when we left Darwin. The bearings from Darwin should have shown us the error, but instead they indicated that our assumptions were correct.” Wood said: “It is an impossible verdict. The Darwin operator gave us the clearest assurance that the bearing was exact.”

The Monospar was on the return flight from Australia to England when it was forced down after leaving Darwin. The members of the parly were subsequently picked up by the Nimoda, which was en route to Durban. Mr Crocombe, the designer of the Monospar, and one of the party in the aeroplane, stated: “We were bitterly disappointed by the Darwin wireless bearings. The errors are incomprehensible. We are only alive by the merest chance. We consistently received the bearing as 288 degrees, when the real bearing was 260.”