AIR TRAGEDY

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 23020, 23 April 1938, Page 15

AIR TRAGEDY

PEEBBLETON CEASH FINDING OF THE BOARD PILOTS "EXCESS OF ZEAL" [by telegraph—press association] WELLINGTON, Friday The finding of the board of inquiry which investigated the accident to aircraft ZK—AFA, which took place at Prebbleton, near Christchur/ih, on February 27 and resulted in the death of the pilot, Mr. C. A. Burmister, a member of the Civil Reserve of Pilots, was announced this evening by the Minister in charge of the Air Department, the Hon. F. Jones. The accident was attributed by the board to an excess of zeal on the part of the pilot in anticipating the rate of normal training by engaging in aerobatics without authority. The board consisted of Mr. W. F. Stillwell, S:M. r Commander A. G. Gerrand, Union Airways, and Commander G. B. Bolt, Cook Strait Airways.

" We find that the aircraft was in every respect airworthy for the purposes of the flight, the terrain favourable for a forced landing and the weather and atmospheric conditions good," says the finding. "The accident, in.our view, was due to an excess of zeal by the pilot in anticipating the rate of normal training by engaging in aerobatics without authority and insufficient training for the manoeuvres undertaken. Instructor's Licence " Arising out of our investigation the following matters are deemed worthy of reference:— ",There is no provision in the present regulations for the issue of a provisional instructor's licence, and if it is thought fit to utilise some restricted form of certificate to cover the assistance which assistants, whether honorary or stipendiary, can give to a chief instructor, then in our view the course to qualify for such certificate should be laid down clearly and the extent of the instruction permitted should be prescribed. We recommend accordingly. "An attached medical history sheet and medical board report contains an exhaustive questionnaire, the answers to which materially assist the medical board in its conclusions. In this case the applicant presumably had no recollection of having suffered from a tubercular hip, and while it could not affect the result (since he had recovered) it might conceivably occur in future that important items of earlier medical history might quite unintentionally be overlooked or forgotten by an applicant. Parents' Confirmation " It seems to us that some method, for example, by a simple endorsement, might, be devised whereby the answers are submitted to the parent or some near relative for confirmation in writing and the dangers arising from misleading data would be obviated. We recommend that some such ' procedure be adopted.

" "While there was admitted ineffective co-operation between the chief instructor and an honorary assistant instructor, we think that a misconception as to the duties of the assistant instructor facilitated this. Effective cooperation has now been established and in our view no further comment about that matter is necessary." The Minister added that as arrangements had now been made for the training of additional-instructors at the flying training school at Wigram the necessity for issuing provisional licences would not arise in future. He proposed to adopt the board's second recommendation in regard to endorsement of an applicant's medical history-sheet by parents or a near relative.