'PLANE DOWN

Stratford Evening Post, Volume IV, Issue 222, 31 August 1936, Page 7

'PLANE DOWN

IMPERIAL AIRWAYS. FORCED LANDING. All Occupants Reported To Be Safe. PETROL EXHAUSTED. Press Association—Copyright London, Aug. „29. The Imperial Airways east-bound uir liner Horsa, carrying eight passengers, made a forced landing south of Bahrein. Considerable anxiety was caused and warships and flying boats joined in a search for the aeroplane which was found near the desert 50 miles south of Bahrein, apparently undamaged. The twelve occupants are reported to be safe. It is believed that the Horsa overshot the landing place at Bahrein on the flight from Basra and flew until the petrol became exhausted. The air liner Aurora and a Royal Air Force aeroplane have left to ascertain whether the Horsa is able to proceed. If she is unable to do so the relief aeroplanes will take the passengers to Basra, whence they will continue their journey. The land between Basra and Bahrein is desert, inhabited only by Arab nomads prone to raiding and fighting. The Horsa carried petrol for only five and a-half hours' flying. Imperial Airways ordered the Atlanta to Basra from Karachi to carry out a search. H.M.S. Bidcford and H.M.S.

Fowey joined in the search. Six of the Horsa's passengers are travelling to India. One of the passengers, Mrs. Jane Wallace-Smith, who is travelling from London to Brisbane, is the wife of a Melbourne stockbroker, Mr. Hugh Wallace-Smith. The Horsa is carrying Australian mail despatched from London on August 8. There is a crew of four in addition to the eight passengers. Apparently the plane was forced down nbout 2 a.m. Greenwich time, as the last radio message received a little while before did not mention trouble. Imperial Airways machines usually skirt this wild, ' inaccessible region. The passengers and mail have already been involved in one delay at Brindisi owing to the mishap to the Scipio. A later message stated that Basra fly-ing-boats had returned after a full day's fruitless search for the Horsa. Aeroplanes from Shaibah, Iraq, and a machi ine from Karachi participated in the search. An Imperial Airways official at London stated that in view of the lack of local communications the absence of news must not be allowed to create undue anxiety. The Horsa wirelessed at 5.20 a'.m. in Persian Gulf time, about sunrise, that she was about to land . She was unable to communicate further and the official deduced from this that she landed safely, but that the emergency ground wireless v/as unable to function further. The transmitter generates from the aero engine so it could not work if, as is probable, the petrol was exhausted. The Horsa carried petrol for a 5J hours' flight, and it had been 5J hours in the air.