FEW THEORIES

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 22936, 14 January 1938, Page 12

FEW THEORIES

CAUSE OF CASUALTY SURMISES DIFFICULT OPINIONS IN DOMINION POSSIBILITIES DISCUSSED With such meagre details availablo on tho nature of the disaster to the Samoan Clipper surmises as to its possible cause are fraught with difficulty, according to leading Now Zealand aviation authorities. In long-distance telephono conversations with the Herald last night, they were unanimous in the opinion that, from tho information so far made known, and from their knowledge of the Clipper, it was nlmost impossible to attempt an adequate explanation. The general contentions of both military and commercial pilots of considerable experience wore summed up by Group-Captain the Hon. 11. A. Cochrane, Chief of Air Staff, who said any surmises as to the causes of tho disaster constituted pur<y speculation. As such, they were of little value. Vagueness o! Information Naturally, the matter was a topic of discussion at Royal Air Force stations yesterday and it was the view of several officers that the fire might have been caused by a spark following a discharge of static electricity. At the Wigrain air baso, Christchurch, it was pointed out during a consideration of the availablo facts that tho mixing of any water with tho fuel would transform it into a ready conductor of electricity and so constitute a potential causo of fire in machines where petrol was carried in the hull. Although it was realised that the disaster was evidently related to the dumping of the fuel, senior officers thought information was too vague to enable real credence to be given to the possibility. Another Suggestion An Air Force officer in another centre developed the same theory to a further stage. He explained that a certain amount of static electricity was carried in an aeroplane during flight and it was remotely possible that an unbroken stream of released petrol might have made contact with the sea, so creating a discharge. On tho other hand, it was pointed out that tho probability would be that the fuel would bo vaporised before reaching tho wator. Unfamiliar with tho type of engines employed on the Sikorsky Clipper, ground engineers said they wero able to speak only in generalities. One man said it was known that if one blade went in a heavy metal airscrew tlio vibration set up would bo sufficient to shako even a flying-boat to pieces within a very short time.