AIR ACCIDENTS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23203, 29 May 1937, Page 14

AIR ACCIDENTS

INQUIRIES INVARIABLY HELD MAIN FACTS TO BE PUBLISHED CAUSE OF TAIERI FATALITY » <Per United Press Association) WELLINGTON, May 28. The Minister of Defence (Mr F. Jones) announced to-day that it was desirable that the public should know that all aircraft accidents are the subject of inquiry by the Air Department. Every accident is investigated immediately by the inspector of accidents and a report, is submitted to the Minister. From this report it is decided whether a further inquiry is necessary. In future it is the intention to release the main facts of these reports for publication. In accordance with this decision the main facts from two recent official accident reports by the inspector of accidents are given. The accidents concerned are the one at the Taieri on March 23 and the one at Greymou'th, on April 11.

FATAL CRASH AT TAItERI Reporting on the accident to the Otago Aero Club's plane which crashed near the Taieri aerodrome on March 23 with a fatal result, the inspector of accidents states that he reached the conclusion that no structural failure of the aircraft or defect in its control mechanism occurred during the flight. He considers that the cause of the accident cannot be definitely determined, but that the evidence suggests as the most likely cause that in the course of the spinning manoeuvres in which he was engaged the pilot, through an error of judgment or temporary dizziness, permitted the aircraft to divt and reach a speed at which it was impossible to regain control in the height available. PLANE FALLS INTO SEA In the case where the West Coast United Aero Club's Moth plane crashed into the sea near the Greymouth aerodrome on April 11, the inspector arrived at the following conclusions:—(a) That the aircraft was in an airworthy condition prior to and during the flight; (b) that mis-use of the rudder control duringa steep turn resulted in the machine going into a dive at too low a height fn which to regain control; (c) that the pilot in executing steep turns at such a low height was taking unnecessary risks; (d) that the accident must be attributed solely to poor technique on the part of the pilot in matters of airmanship.