FATAL AIR COLLISION

Taranaki Daily News, 12 January 1932, Page 11

FATAL AIR COLLISION

TWO OFFICERS KILLED. glare of the . SUN. A blind spot caused by the sun is believed to have been the reason for a recent collision betwen two Royal Air Force aeroplanes at Kenley Aerodrome, Surrey, in which two officers were killed. The victims, who were Killed instantly, were: Flight-Lieutenant E. V. S. Lacey, who was piloting a two-seater machine, and Pilot-Officer J. E. Shrimpton, a passenger in Lacey’s machine. The pilot of the second aeroplane, PilotOfficer E. E. Stokes, escaped with slight injuries. FlighULieutenhnt Lacey, who was wireless officer at Kenley, was flying back from Biggin Hill aerodrome. As the machine w-as about to land the sin-gle-seater piloted by Pilot-Officer Stokes descended. The morning sun was low in the sky, but shining brightly, and the two machines were about 50ft. from the ground. It is thought that one of the pilots was temporarily blinded by the sun. Mr. L. Jones, who saw the collision, said: “The undercarriage of Lacey’s machine touched the wings bf the singleseater. There was a crash. Then the two machines separated and the twoseater crashed to the ground, while the other machine made a forced landing about 300 yards away.” , In landing the single-seater overturned, but Pilotofficer Stokes was able to climb out unaided. 1 Flight-Lieutenant Lacey, who was 31 years of age, had been stationed at Kenley for two years. He saw service in Irak and Palestine from 1923 to 1926. Pilot-Officer Shrimpton was 25 years of age.