Wrecked Air Liner

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 806, 29 October 1929, Page 9

Wrecked Air Liner

POINTED QUESTIONS ASKED

Why Tug Abandoned Plane

DELAY IN SENDING A DESTROYER

Received 10 a.m. LONDON, Monday. THE bodies of Pilot Birt, Engineer Pembroke and Wireiessoperator Stone, who were lost from the British Imperial Airways air-liner City of Rome, have been accounted for. The body of one of the four passengers has also been found. It is that of Charles Ritchie.

It appears that the crew climbed the wings and sent out distress signals, but were washed off. The passengers were drowned in the cabin. Imperial Airways, Ltd., has no information as to why the captain of the Italian tug Famiglia did not take off the City of Rome's passengers. TRIBUTE TO ITALIANS The British Consul at Spezia, however, pays a high tribute to the Italians for the efforts they made to save the air-liner in the face of terrible seas. The captain of the Famiglia, he says, made a gallant fight against the elements. as she is only a tiny craft. When the ropes parted the Famiglia stood by tlie. drifting flyingboat for an hour, during which the crew tried to get alongside. It was only when it was seen that the City of Rome was likely to sink that the Famiglia was taken back at full speed to the harbour for more help. Mr. Turney, one of the four passengers on the lost air-liner, was a customs officer at Croydon airdrome. He was returning from a holiday at Athens. ALL MAILS LOST Commander Birt was 27 years old. He had been engaged in aviation since 1924, and had served in the Royal AitForce until March last. The Post Office states that the whole of the Indian and Egyptian mails are believed to have been lost with the City of Rome. A British Official Wireless message says: Reports from Spezia state that the City of Rome is believed to have been located in the water about IS miles off the Italian coast between Spezia and Pareggio, Salvage attempts, however, have so far been prevented by the gale. A message from Spezia states that the Italian destroyers, tugs and airplanes, after a strenuous search, returned to port. .There was no trace of any wreckage or of the other bodies.

COULD NOT GET NEAR

TUG'S CAPTAIN EXPLAINS DANGERS OWN SHIP IN GREAT PERIL Reed. 12.52 p.m. LONDON, Monday. The Rome correspondent of the British United Press Interviewed the captain of the Italian tug Famiglia, who said a terrific sea made it impossible for the tug to approach closer than ten yards. His own situation was dangerous, as the ship was on the point of capsizing. Furthermore, 100 empty winebarrels on the deck got adrift and rolled about, endangering the lives of the men. The noise of the wind and the waves was so great that they heard no voices from the seaplane. They thought the three men on the wings comprised the air-liner’s full complement. One towline was fixed and towing

continued for 15 minutes, when the rope came adrift. “I believe the towlines broke, owing to the fact that the seaplane had sprung a leak, and was water-logged,” he said. “We searched in the darkness for hours, seeing no sign of anything or anybody. When 1 returned aboard the destroyer the air-liner was gone.” Italian experts believe that one of the engines failed and the seaplane headed toward the land, but, being unable to progress with two engines, was forced into the sea. CONFLICTING REPORTS LONDON NEWSPAPERS ASK QUESTIONS ACTIONS OF TUG CAPTAIN Reed. 1.10 p.m. LONDON, Monday. Conflicting information about the air-mail disaster renders it difficult to appraise circumstances. One or two reports suggest that attempts to take.oft’ the occupants by the crew of the Famiglia failed owing to the fury of the waves. Others assert that the seaplane was still out-riding the gale when it w r as adrift. The Famiglia’s captain, as cabled, declares tbat it vanished when it got adrift. He searched fruitlessly for hours. Advices from India say that the disaster, coming closely on top of the Jask smash, has caused grave misgivings about the safety of the service, and consternation among business men. The London Press is asking why the Famiglia abandoned the seaplane; why the occupants were not taken aboard the tug; why three hours elapsed between the arrival of the Famiglia at Spezia and the dispatch of the Italian destroyer. • t It is agreed that the only satisfactory feature of the tragedy was the behaviour of the flying-boat. It is the best kind in the world in a tempestuous sea. DEAD AIRMAN’S EFFECTS PACKED ABOARD WRECKED AIR-LINER CRASH IN INDIA RECALLED Reed. 10 a.m. DELHI, Monday. It Is revealed tbat the personal effects of the late Captain Woodbridge, the pilot of the plane which crashed and was burned at Jask in September, were packed aboard the ill-fated airliner City of Rome.