CLIPPER ALTERS COURSE

Southland Times, Issue 23406, 13 January 1938, Page 5

CLIPPER ALTERS COURSE

Radio Silent Since Early; Morning LIMITED FACILITIES FOR SEARCH (United Press Assn.—Telegraph Copyright) (Received January 13, 12.5 a.m.) SAN FRANCISCO, January 12.

Pan-American Airways announced that the Samoan Clipper, bound for New Zealand, was missing after sending a wireless message that it was turning back because of an oil leak. A crew of seven is aboard, including the commander (Captain Edwin C. Musick). There were no passengers.

The last wireless contact with the Clipper was made at 8.37 a.m. yesterday.

A message from Pago Pago quoted a native as seeing the Clipper flying off the western end of Tutuila Island (Eastern Samoa) in a quantity of smoke. ,

A search started immediately. The mine-sweeper Avocet, stationed at the United States naval station at Samoa, sent out an aeroplane to search the route, which it was believed Captain Musick followed.

Honolulu’s wireless station, KGMB, offered facilities to broadcast messages

to the missing aeroplane. Naval officials at Washington described the searching facilities in the vicinity of Pago Pago as “very poor." The naval base was equipped with a single utility seaplane, a mine-sweeper ■ (the Avocet) and an old coal-burning tender which participated in the search for Mrs Amelia Earhart Putnam. Hono- ' lulu was the nearest fully-equipped station, but it was impossible to conduct an aerial search from Honolulu because of the distance.

EXPLOSION FEARED It was believed at Pago Pago that the Clipper had been forced down about 30 miles from Tutuila Island. The PanAmerican air base feared that if the petrol was dumped when the flyingboat attempted an emergency landing an explosion might have occurred. An aeroplane from the Avocet searched fruitlessly for several hours along the route which the clipper would have taken west of Pago Pago. It was believed that the Clipper was to the north side of Tutuila Island when it sent its last message. Aviation officials believe that the mishap was so sudden that the wireless operator did not have tune to transit a message. It was also believed unlikely that the Clipper had landed on land or near the shore, because natives would have reported it. Tutuila Island is 17 miles long and ’ five miles wide. The western end is lowest lying and is closely cultivated. There are mountains 1500 ft high on the island. The report of the sighting of the Clipper was traced to a private wireless transmitter who had only seen the flying-boat unloading petrol in the harbour at Apia. DUMPING OF PETROL

Officials of Pan-American Airways expressed the opinion that it was possible that Captain Musick, after reporting the leak, landed in water on the leeward of some South Pacific island. Experts believed that mountain ranges might be interfering with reception from the Clipper’s wireless, and hoped that i.ight would bring more favourable conditions. No significance was attached to the native seeing smoke. It was said that Captain Musick was probably dumping petrol, preparatory to attempting a landing, and the native mistook the spraying liquid for smoke. It was recalled that a similar dumping before a landing made at Pearl Harbour caused many to believe that another Pan-American flying-boat was on fire.