AIR BEACONS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 23208, 30 November 1938, Page 14

AIR BEACONS

KYEEMA DISASTER COUNSEL'S CHARGES GOVERNMENT BLAMED 'ADDRESS AT INQUIRY 33y Telegraph—Press Association —Copyright MELBOURNE, Nov. 5:9 After 21 days the hearing of evidence in the Kyeoma crash inquiry ended yesterday, and counsel's addresses were begun. Mr. Leo Little, for the Air Pilots and Navigators' Institute, blamod the Federal Government for the crash. He condemned the adminiut rati on of civil aviation control, alleging that the Lorenz radio beacon could have been operating six or !12 in6nths ago. Mr. Little charged tho administration with a certain amount of looseness, mal-adm,inistration and lack of co-ordination. Ho suggested that the Minister of Civil Aviation, Mr. H. V. Tliorby, should bo called upon to explain tho decision not to call tendws for the beacon, and the delays in the purchaso or hire of a machine for tests of tho beacon.

Counsel's request was considered Iby the committee, which announced that the beacons wero not delayed and the failure to call tenders was no reason for calling Mr. Thorby. Continuing, Mr. Little said that tlie "unfortunate pilot, Captain A. Webb, would never have had to makp tlie decision ho did and the 17 others on board would have been alive to-day if there had been a beacon. "Tho curse of it is that the beacon could have been functioning six or 12 months ago," said counsel.

Tho Australian National Airways' Douglas monoplAno Kyeema, on October 25 crashed into Mount Dandenong, 28 miles south-east of Melbourne, and the 18 persons on board were killed. The air liner had nearly completed a flight from Adelaide when apparently it was lost in a fog. It hit the mountain about 100 feet from the top, ploughed a deep path among trees di:id then dropped' almost to the base of tho mountain in flames. Four of the victims were thrown out terribly injured but identifiable. The remainder were trapped in the cabiin and burned beyond recognition. It was stated at the time that oitie of the most disturbing aspects of tilte disaster, was the fact that the Loreiuz shortt-wave radio navigation beacoiti, which had been installed at Essendon aerodrome for more than a year, was not and never had been in operation because the Civil Aviation Department liad not completed the necessary final tests and adjustments.

The newspapers published severe criticism of ,tho Fedaral authorities responsible. for the non-functioning of the beacon, which if it had been working, would, it was claimed, assuredly have averted the disaster. Mr. G. A. Robinson, managingdirector of Airlines of Australia, revealed that pilots had actually brought air liners homo to Mascot aerodrome from Adelaide and Brisbane on tho Xrorenz beam and had voted ii 100 per cent, efficient, but after that experiment it'had been switched off, apparently to await the Civil Aviation Department's own official tests in il« own time. .