RISKS IN THE AIR

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXI, Issue 21782, 23 April 1934, Page 11

RISKS IN THE AIR

FLYING-IN CLOUDS THE WELLINGTON FATALITY AUCKLAND CLUB'S INQUIRY A statement regarding the aviation fatality which occurred near Wellington on March 17 and which resulted in i the death of Mr. E. R. Boucher, president of the Auckland Aero Club, has been forwarded to the Wellington Aero Club by Mr. L. VV. Swan, secretary of the Auckland Club, who was a passenger on the ill-fated flight. The statement is the outcome of an inquiry made by the Auckland Club regarding the circumstances of tho accident. Mr. Swan says:— "My committee feels that a great deal of harm has been done to the cause of aviation in the Dominion and in particular to those who indulge in flying in the vicinity of the Wellington district. Many opinions have been expressed, which apparently have given rise to the opinion in the mind of the public that Wellington of all places in New Zealand is a menace to aviation and the mere crossing of Cook Strait by air has assumed the nature of a dangerous enterprise. . . . "It is true that Wellington may not be quite so favourably situated as many places for amateur flying because of a certain amount of cloud formation, but apart from this qualification precisely the same safeguards in flying have to bo adopted in any district and in any other aerodrome in New Zealand. The lesson to be learned from this fatality is not that some special rule should be made governing Cook Strait and Wellington flying, but that rules should bo made governing voluntary cloud flying. . . . Cloud flying, therefore, with the aeroplanes now in use in New Zealand, constitutes the one danger which must be avoided by the amateur, and, notwithstanding the various lessons in this respect, it seems to be quite impossible to convince certain amateur pilots of the danger. "During the last few years a vast amount of passenger flying has been done in New Zealand by such pilots as Bolt, Stedman, Mercer, Allan, Lett and others of similar experience, without any suggestion of discomfort to passengers. These pilots have flown throughout the length and breadth of the Dominion in almost all weathers, and the reason of their immunity from any untoward happenings is that their experience has led them to adhere to fixed rules, one of the most important being to keep'-out of the clouds." Two Courses Across Strait Referring in particular to the incident of March 17, Mr. Swan says: "The obvious and correct procedure was to fly underneath the clouds, as there was ample room to do so. Then, upon reaching a point round the coast, opposite the South Island, the aeroplane could be turned to fly across. In the event of clouds either round the coast or across Cook Strait being too low to prevent this course being followed, it was merely a matter of returning to Rongotai. The clouds were, however, entered voluntarily by the pilot, who evidently considered they were of no great density, and the object in entering them could only have the advantage of saving a small amount of time by gaining height while actually flying through the cloud." Mr. Swan also says: "The committee of this club feels that any inquest following an air fatality should include persons who are competent, to ask questions for the purpose of seeing that the full and correct facts are elicited and thus brought home to the public."