“SMITHY” SAFE

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LV, Issue 17588, 2 October 1931, Page 5

“SMITHY ” SAFE

A FORCED LANDING NO HOPE OF RECORD EN ROUTE TO ATHENS (Elec. Tot. Copyright—United Press Assn.) (Received Oct. 2. noon.) ATHENS, Oct. I. It is reported that Air Commodore Kingsford Smith made a forced landing at Milas, near Smyrna. He is expected at Athens to-day. The Vacuum Oil Co. confirms this report. Athens was included ,in “Smithy’s’' original, itinerary, lint was deleted following his delay on the early stage of the flight. It had been planned to reach Athens on the sixth day of the flight, leaving a distance of 1 Till miles to be covered to reach England, the estimated time required being a day and a half. As a result of the further delay Athens was not reached until the eighth day, if then, so that all hope of establishing a new record has gone. Milas, where the airman made a forced landing, is near the west coast of Turkey, and less than half way from Aleppo to Rome, where “Smithy” was due on Wednesday evening. TRIBUTE TO “SMITHY” EVERY REQUIRED QUALITY LONDON, October 1. Paying a tribute to Kingsford Smith, the Daily Telegraph asks: “What puts an airman in the highest class?” The newspaper expresses the, opinion that Kingsford Smith’s secret cannot be put into a single word. Ho simply has every quality required—brilliant technical skill, courage, good humor in adversity, and wonderful physique. He has accomplished almost every long distance flight worth attempting. EARLIER REPORTS WIDESPREAD ANXIETY NIGHT-LONG VIGIL AT ROME LONDON, Oct. 1. The Daily Mail’s Rome correspondent says it is supposed that Kingsford Smith either made a forced landing at, an isoloted spot, or refuelled somewhere, and proceeded direct lo England. A British Air Force attache waited at the aerodrome until nearly midnight. A night-long vigil at the Rome airport was maintained, but not the slightest inkling of Kingsford Smith was received. Anxiety was intensified because no wireless signals could he heard from the machine, and it was feared that he had been forced down for want of petrol in the back country in the Balkans. Air Force officials at London arc puzzled that “Smithy” did not use his emergency wireless. No airport on route had even sighted the machine. The Evening News’ correspondent at Rome considers it possible that “Smithy” might have come down in Italian territory, as the route from Aleppo enters Italy just north of Bari and thence proceeds over the Apennines, passing no inhabited centre larger than a small village. It might take many hours to roach a village to send news, if the wireless were not functioning. The region is very wild, and experts consider tlic chance ot Smith landing without a crash very small. ~ , The Italian Air Force, acting undei instructions from the Air Ministiy, is keeping ambulance and repair planes ready, but no effort has yet been made to search, since the chances of finding the airman in the countless small valleys of the Apennines would be almost negligible.

-Speaking from 2FC Sydney last night, Flight-Licut. C. T. P. Ulm. said he was frankly worried at the absence ot news of “Smithy” since he bad left Aleppo. Ho leit at 4 a.m. yesterday and it was then 11 a.m.»at Rome. Thus it was ol hours since he left Aleppo, and he had not yet been reported at any point en route. Ulm expected that Smith would land at Athens or Brindisi to refuel, but had lie landed at those places there would surely have been news, lie would have taken off from Aleppo With iuel for 18 hours’ flying, and after 17 hours would have landed to refuel, so that the absence of news indicated a forced landing. . • , The country in Asia Minor over winch ho would have flown, was so thickly populated that ho should have been able to get news of his whereabouts to the worjd. There was the strong probability that he had had engine trouble, as news previously received was that he had been worried over the engine. Before lie left Australia he had had some trouble with the engine between Adelaide and Oodnadatta, hut from Wymiham he advised the speaker that the engine had liven fixed up and everything was O.K. Mr. Ulm said-lie was confident as to “Smithy’s" ability to make a forced landing' in any circumstances without sustaining any bodily harm, and he was not concerned so much about his personal safety as the fact that the delay might make it impossible for him to break the record. It would be extremely bad luck, as be had met with most troublesome weather conditions on the journey, and had successfully overcome them.