CRASH SEQUEL

New Zealand Herald, Volume 78, Issue 24085, 2 October 1941, Page 10

CRASH SEQUEL

DEATH OF AIRMAN MACHINE'S CONDITION NEGLIGENCE ALLEGED COURT-A HTIA L CHARGES [ BT TELEGRAPH—PRESS ASSOCIATION] CHRISTCHURCH, Wednesday A general court-martial opened at Harewood to-day, when Flight-Sergeant John Richard Claydon faced two charges of negligence, causing the death of Loading-Aircraftman Bryan Walter Lambourne in the air crash at Ivaiapoi on September 11. The first charge against Claydon was that he had been guilty of negligence in relation to certain aircraft material as a result of which a person lost his life, in that, at Harewood on or about September having authorised William Ridley Cole to carry out an operation on two tie-rods, he neglected to exercise proper supervision, as a result of which the heads of the tie-rods were stripped and two nuts failed to hold on a service flight and the aircraft crashed on September 11, causing the death of Lambourne. The second charge alleged that Claydon had not exercised proper supervision over the assembly of aircraft to ensure that only serviceable tie-rods and nuts were fitted, as a consequence of which the front lower mainplane attachment fittings failed to hold the fuselage and the aircraft crashed.

Claydon pleaded not guilty to both charges. Wing-Commander K. L. Caldwell, of Woodbounie. presided over the Court, and Flying-Officer M. R. Jackson, of Wellington, prosecuted. The defence was handled by Mr. C. S. Thomas and Mr. C. G. Penlington. Machine Unserviceable Flying-Officer Jackson said the evidence of Pilot-Officer K. S. Blair, the instructor who was in the aeroplane with Lambourne when it crashed, would show the port wing fell up and back and the aircraft went into a spin and then crashed. The machine had done two loops and had its nose on the horizon for the third loop when the wing fell back. Pilot-Officer Blair parachuted to land. When the wreckage was examined it was found that two nuts had been stripped off two tie-rods. The aircraft was examined on September 2. Cole was detailed for work on it and found two tie-rods slack. Cole reported that fact to accused and asked what should be done. Claydon said take the rods out and run the threads down. Cole did that and the rods were reassembled in the aircraft. Claydon, who was responsible for supervision of the work, gave it at the most a very cursory inspection, and as a result the aircraft was unserviceable and crashed. No blame was attachable to Cole, who had done his best. Instructor's Evidence Pilot-Officer K. S. Blair said he was taking Lambourne for an instructional flight when, while he was teaching Lambourne to do a loop, he heard a tearing sound, and the port wing fell back to an angle of 45 degrees. He closed the throttle and tried to get the aeroplane out of the spin into which it had gone, but it did not answer the controls. He then told Lambourne to

"get out" and parachuted. The aircraft was on the ground when he landed. He found Lambourne's body near by. Flight-Lieutenant Noel E. Chandler, engineer officer, said that after threading the tie-rods should have been shown to him before they were installed. After the crash, he found that the left wing had pulled away and that the threads on the tie-rods were faulty. They had been screwed by the wrong dies and were a good deal smaller in diameter than they should be. Witness said Claydon was a good conscientious non-commissioned officer apart from the accident and there was nothing slapdash about his work. Headquarters Instruction W. P. Cole, flight-rigger, said Claydon told witness and James Douglas Paterson that there was an Air Headquarters letter about loose attachment fittings on this type of aircraft and instructed them to pay particular attention to them. They found them loose on this aircraft and, after inspection by Claydon. the rods were removed. one nut being damaged. Claydon told them to run the threads down, not saying what that meant or how to do it. Wit less and Paterson took the rods to the store. On the way witness asked somebody what size they were and was told five-sixteenths, which was what witness thought they were. Witness used the die the store gave him and after running it over the thread he thought it all right. He also got a new nut from the store. When the rod was put back in the aircraft the nut was screwed on and held by a split pin. Paterson also gave evidence. Pilot-Officer B. P. Bergin, of Air Headquarters, Wellington, said he examined the rods from the wrecked aircraft. The state of the threads was such that the rods should not have been put into service. Examination showed that the nuts had stripped off. the centre portion of the split pin remaining in the rod. The whole operation was so important that the utmost care had to be taken. Accused in the Box Accused, giving evidence on his own behfdf, said he was 24 years of age and had served five vears in the Air Force. The first he knew of the trouble with the type of aircraft concerned in the accident was when Warrant-Officer Thorpe showed him the original letter from Air Headquarters dealing with loose fittings in this part and told him to check them over on aircraft coming in for their next 30-hour inspection. He saw all the riggers and told them speeiallv to inspect this part and to report to'him if there was any looseness. The aircraft concerned came in and a loo.se fitting was reported to him. After an inspection and finding that the nuts on the tie-rods could not be tightened, he caused the rods to be removed and instructed Colo to thread them down. Ho did not tell him what die to use and he did not inspect the thread himself. He considered Cole a qualified flightrigger and qualified to do this threading'" down, which was an elementary job done all the time in the workshops, although it had to be done carefully. Cole did not tell accused lie had not previously done any threading. Nuts Fitted Tightly Accused did not know at .the time what the thread was and lie expected Cole to use a thread gauge before drawing a die from the store and not to rely"on the opinion of a friend. A proper sized die would not have cut until it got on to the new metal. It would have spun. Informed that the rods had been put back, accused inspected them and found them quite tight and different from what they had lfcen at first. He saw that one nut was ot a different type and said that was all right. Normally riggers would come to him when there was any difficulty, but no question was raised hv either Cole or Paterson. To the prosecuting officer, accused said he had made no specific inquiries about Cole's experience. Colt* would not be a flight-rigger if he had rot, had a course at Rongotai. He had not seen an order relating to two types of tie-rods before this job was undertaken.- He did not make it a constant practice to read the orders in the workshops order book. If the original letter fro..i Headquarters had been worded like the latest order on the subject the accident would not have happened. After addresses by the prosecuting officer and Mr. Thomas vie Court adjourned to hear the judge advocate's summing-up.