The Southland Times THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 1941. A Good Record in the Air

Southland Times, Issue 24353, 6 February 1941, Page 6

The Southland Times THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 1941. A Good Record in the Air

THE FIGURES quoted by WingCommander Crocker in a recent broadcast statement should remove from the public mind any fears that the accident rate in the Royal Nev/ Zealand Air Force has been excessive. In a leading article last week we pointed out that the number- of accidents had seemed distressingly large but that in the absence of statistics it was impossible to judge the accident rate; and we suggested that the report on this matter which was presented to the War Council by the Chief of the Air Stall should be released, as far as possible, for publication. While the Government has not seen fit to publish Air-Commodore Saunders’s report, even in part, it has permitted Wing-Commander Crocker to state the relevant facts. Wing-Commander Crocker is an officer of the Royal Air Force who is about to return to England after three years’ service on the technical side of the R.N.Z.A.F. In his broadcast he gave assurances that the efficiency of aircraft maintenance in New Zealand has improved “beyond all recognition” during the last three years, and that the aircraft and equipment at the disposal of the Royal New Zealand Air Force are good. New Zealand, he declared, had some of the most modern types of trainer aircraft in the world. Other types, though obsolescent, were of proved efficiency and were maintained in perfect condition. “I know, and I wish the people of New Zealand to know,” said the WingCommander, “that the technical side of their air force is on sound lines.”

The statistics which he quoted show conclusively that by far the largest proportion of accidents have been caused by the inexperience of pilots. Of the accidents classed as serious in the Royal New Zealand Air Force since the start of the war, 90 per cent, have been due to “the human clement or errors of judgment on the part of pilots,” five per cent, to “the human element in maintenance,” and five per cent, to “causes impossible to ascertain.” The accident rate works out at under two accidents for every 1,000,000 miles flown, which, according to Wing-Commander Crocker, is only half the rate for serious road accidents during 1937-38. Especially when it is considered that the Royal New Zealand Air Force has been passing through a period of unprecedented expansion under war conditions, this record must be regarded as an excellent one, justifying the utmost confidence in the air staff and administration. WingCommander Crocker made it clear that his remarks were intended, in part, as an answer to the “rumours and whisperings” which have blamed every accident on faulty aircraft or faulty organization. While the Wing-Commander was not unfair in describing those who credit and spread such baseless charges as “the conscious or unconscious agents of Hitler,” the service authorities and the Government should recognize that an attitude of secrecy will always breed rumours. The public should be given all possible information on matters that are likely to disturb it; and it should be given the information before, not after, the rumours have started.