CALL FOR HELP

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19140, 8 October 1936, Page 5

CALL FOR HELP

SEMPILL'S PLANE FOUR MEN ABOARD OVERDUE ON SEA HOP FEEBLE SIGNALS HEARD BELIEVED ON ISLAND |£lflC. Tel. Copyright—United Press Assn.) (Reed. Oct. S, 11.1.1 a.m.) 1) All WIN, Oct. 8. It was feared yesterday that Lord Scmpill's Monospar plane, which was flown recently from England, and which, with Mr. H. Wood as a pilot, left yesterday on the return flight, had been forced down in the Timor Sea.

Then the grave anxiety for the safety of the crew was barely relieved by feeble SOS messages received between 9 and 10 o'clock last night, Darwin time. So taint were the messages that it was difficult to make anything of them, except ■that they were S.O'.g signals. .... A liearing taken on the directional wireless apparatus at. the Royal Australian Air Force station at Darwin gave the position of the Monospar as on Timor Island, about 60 to 70 miles from Koepang. It is assumed the plane was' sending from the beach and the crew were generating power by hand. The word -'batteries" was heard in one message, and it is believed the plane's batteries are failing. Weak messages were still being received at midnight.

The machine took off from Darwin at "4.50 a.m. local time, and was not heard until 17 hours later. PEBSONNEL OF CREW

Mr. Wood said he was confident he could keep a promise to the crew that they would have lunch in London next Sunday.

Mr. Wood is accompanied by the designer of the plane, Mr. P. P. Crombe as engineer, Mr. L. Davies, radio operator, and Mr. C. P. Gilroy. The machine had a load of 11,3001 b., chiefly of petrol and spare parts. Mr. Wood planned to reach Singapore, 23-17 miles from Darwin, yesterday evening.

Mr. Wood intimated before he took off from Darwin that he intended to breakfast at Koepang at about 7.30.

The radio directional station at Darwin heard a weak signal from the plane when the machine was about 70 miles from the coast of Koepang. A Qantas mail plane, with British mails, left Koepang at 12.45 p.m. for Darwin. It wirelessed that it saw no sign of the missing plane over the Timor Sea.

The Government patrol boat Larra kin has been dispatched to search.

A Singapore message says the plane was last seen -150 miles from Darwin. The authorities of the Royal Air Force at Singapore have communicated with Batavia, Sourabaya and Koepang offering to aid if necessary in the search for the Monospar. EMPIRE FLYERS ONLY AIR RACE TO AFRICA REGRETS OF THE WINNER JOHANNESBURG, Oct, 6. Mr. C. W. A. Scott, pilot of the winning piano in the air race from Portsmouth to Johannesburg, speaking at a luncheon, expressed regret that the contest had not been open to international competitors. He might have accomplished something better for Britain if the entry had been open to all nations. It was all very well to say that British aircraft had reached the Hand in a certain time, but other countries might now say they could have eliminated British aircraft from the start. It would have given British aviation a greater fillip even if a non-Britisher had won. Britain was terribly behind in commei'cial aviation. "If there is another race, for heaven's sake make it international," he said.

Mr. I. W. Schlcsinger, the donor of the prize, said he intended to investigate Mr. Scott's suggestion.

ATLANTIC CROSSING

SWEDISH PILOT STARTS

NEW YOIIK, Oct. (5

Kurt Bjorkvall, a Swedish aviator, started to-day on a non-stop flight to Stockholm in a Bellanca monoplane.