AEROPLANE CRASH

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22421, 16 November 1934, Page 9

AEROPLANE CRASH

DE HAVILLAND MACHINE FOUR PEOPPLE KILLED (United Press Association.) (By Eleotrlo Telegraph—Copyright.) BRISBANE, November 15. Four people were killed when a fourengined De Havilland biplane crashed 29 miles south of Longreach at 7.30 this morning. This is one of the machines intended for the Singapore-Brisbane service. The crew consisted of Captain R. A. Prendergast (of Imperial Airways), W. V. Creastes (co-pilot and wireless operator), F. R. Charlton (engineer), and a Shell Oil Company’s representative named Broadfoot, who was travelling as a passenger. All were killed. A Sydney message received yesterday read: Two large De Havilland biplanes for the Brisbane-Singapore section of the London-Australia air mail are now in Australia, the second machine having reached Darwin. Two more are being shipped from London, and the fifth is being flown to Australia in the middle of December. BODIES TERRIBLY MANGLED BRISBANE, November 15. (Received Nov. 15, at 11 p.m.) . The fourth victim, of the crash was Emery Hugh Broadfoot, aged 29, of South Kensington, the Sydney representative of the Shell Oil Company. Captain Prendergast was the chief pilot for Imperial Airways. He brought the liner from England for delivery to Quantas Airways. The other members of the crew were employed by Imperial Airways. The accident, which caused a painful sensation ,in aviation circles, occurred three miles from Barsdale homestead, a quarter of an hour after taking off from Longreach, and when men from the homestead reached the scene they found three' members of the crew already dead. Broadfoot was still alive, but died later. The plane apparently dived and was badly wrecked. The bodies were terribly mangled. An eye witness states that the machine gave the impression that the pilot was endeavouring to return to Longreach, but fell suddenly on the regular mail route in lightly timbered country. The machine left Darwin on Tuesday afternoon for Brisbane, but landed at Avon Downs for petrol, and reached Lougi'each at 6 p.m. yesterday. A coincidence was that Broadfoot was the Shell representative at Darwin during the air race, being substituted for Henrikson, who was killed in an air crash at Winton on October 4 before the race, while en route to Darwin. Broadfoot was due to travel by the same plane but missed it. IMMEDIATE INVESTIGATION' CANBERRA, November 15. (Received Nov. 15, at 11.30 p.m.) The Federal Cabinet to-day ordered an immediate investigation into the air crash near Longreach. Meanwhile the inauguration of the air mail between Australia and Singapore has been suspended. The Deputy Prime Minister (Dr Earle Page) said that every precaution would be taken to avoid further accidents. Mr R. A. Parkhill (Minister of Defence) said that the Longreach disaster, following so closely upon the loss of the air liner Miss Hobart off the Victorian coast, necessitated the closest inquiry into the whole question. Officials of the Civil Aviation Department, ■ together with Captain Lester Brain (chief pilot) and Mr W. Baird (works manager for Quantas, Ltd.), have left for the scene of the accident in the Diana biplane, which was tha first machine brought from England for the Australia-Singapore section. A third similar machine arrived aboard the freighter Bendigo on Monday and is to be assembled here, Mr Hudson Fysh, managing director of Quantas Airways, stated that the cause of the crash was a complete, mystery. Pilot Prendergast was thoroughly experienced. He had brought the Imperial Airways’ Astraea to Australia last June and he was familiar with Australian conditions. i PAINFUL IMPRESSION LONDON, November 15. (Received Nov. 16, at 1.40 a.m.) The Quantas crash created a painful impression in London in view of the unfortunate preliminaries of the 1931 Christmas air mail. Imperial Airways have not yet been officially advised of Quantas’s temporary suspension of air mail arrangements, but are confident that unless the investigation involves any sweeping change of plan it will still be possible to adhere to the original schedule, despite the loss of the machine.