AMERICA DEEPLY SHOCKED

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXXI, 14 January 1938, Page 5

AMERICA DEEPLY SHOCKED

INVESTIGATION INTO CRASH CURIOUS TWIST OF FATE (Received 14th January, 9.15 a.m.) NEW YORK, 1 12th January. The Clipper tragedy apparently profoundly shocked America. The “New Y-ork Times” in a leader says: “The grim news is well-nigh unbelievable. American aviation has lost much more than a fine aircraft and an incomparable safety record, for it will have lost Captain Musick and his crew. There will be universal regret in the flying world that he could not fulfil his own expressed wish to be known not as his airline’s chief pilot, but as its oldest.”

The “Washington Herald” says: ’The world probably will never know w'hat happened off Samoa, but every aviator will take his oath it was not the fault of the man at the controls.” Captain Musick and Mr P. s. Brunck, the junior flight officer, were trained in the United States Navy. The Washington correspondent of the “New York Times” says that the coast guard refused the request of PanAmerican Airways, to send the cutter Taney from Honolulu to the scene of the disaster since “it did not believe any useful purpose would be served in sending the vessel on a 4000-mile journey.”

The Director of the Bureau of Air Commerce, Mr F. D. Fagg, ordered Inspector Suravich, who made the initial flight to Auckland in December, from Honolulu to Pago Pago to investigate the crash, but it is not believed transpoi'tation would be available unless the cutter were sent.

Observers here comment on the curious twist of fate that the crash apparently occurred only 14 miles from Pago Pago—a few minutes from safety. Observers here comment on the curious twist of fate that the crash apparently occurred only 14 miles from Pago Pago—a few minutes from safety. The Clipper disaster has centred attention on the drastic order by Mr Fagg grounding the North-Western Airline's entire fleet of Lockheed HVl4’s, one of which crashed in Montana this month, due, it is alleged, to structural

faults inducing stalling. Mr Fagg insisted, however, that the order does not affect the Lockheeds recently sold to foreign purchasers, because they are of a different design. There is some conjecture here with regard to an investgiation into the Clipper crash. Mr Fagg later declared that Inspector Suravich might remain at Honolulu to conduct an informal inquiry if and when any wreckage was brought to Hawaii. NEED FOR SAFETY One result of the loss of the Samoan Clipper may be a closer co-opei'ation between British and American interests to make the Dominion-United States route, particularly across the Pacific, safer and surer. The question is even asked. “Can transocean flying suffer another such loss without losing public support?”

It is felt that Pan-American and Imperial Airways should study, not only the technical side of the question, but the suitability of other routes tying up the Empire and the United States with an intricate system of joint landing facilities. This would not necessarily interfere with all-British

routes It is believed, for instance, that the London-Australia-New Zealand course should be explored, via Bermuda British Guina. and Christmas Island with an American feeder line, via New York, to Bermuda. This route would supplement the LondonCanada route.

The loss of the Samoan Clipper has placed Pan-American Airways in the position of being, at least temporarily, without machines to continue the New Zealand service.

The “New York Times” states: “The disaster has caused discussions in Honolulu aviation circles concerning the possibility that British interests will take the opportunity to establish the long-projected airline from New Zealand to Canada, via Hawaii, Imperial Airways having received assurances of landing privileges and facilities at Hawaii and Christmas Island. Moreover this, it is considered, will give the Empire route facilities potentially equal to the American.” Pan-American representatives indicated, however, that they will not abandon the New Zealand line because “it was one of the most important for> which the Sikorsky was built and delivered to Alameda, the Pan-Ameri-can base at San Francisco, in February, 1937.”

DANGER OF DUMPING PETROL The danger of dumping petrol from airci'aft became known after a searching investigation into the Hindenburg disaster, when the chief inspector of the Bureau of Commerce issued an order sealing all fuel dumps valves on planes used for scheduled air transport. The order came as the result of tests made with dyed fuel and an analysis of marks the fuel left on vulnerable parts of aircraft after its release. The Samoan Clipper, however, be--1 cause of the nature of its exploratory ( flight, had received a restricted license i and was not subject to the order. She ; carried in her hull fuel tanks to give her a cruising range of nearly 3500 j miles. The only way to empty that j extra fuel was by pumping it to the wing tanks and then releasing the dump valves. Such an operation required time and repeated operations. .A spark of static electricity, control of which when collected by moving vessels has long been a mystery, apparent ly ignited the Clipper while in process of dumping petrol.