HINKLER’S FATE

Taranaki Daily News, 1 May 1933, Page 7

HINKLER’S FATE

BODY FOUND BY MACHINE CRASH IN TUSCAN MOUNTAINS WILD AND ISOLATED REGION PAPERS CONFIRM IDENTITY PETROL TANKS NEARLY DRY By Telegraph—Press Assn.—Copyright. Rome, April 28. The body of Mr. Bert Hinkler, the Australian airman who has been missing since January 8, when he left England on an attempted flight to Australia, has been found beside his wrecked machine in the isolated mountainous region of Castel di Sopra, in Tuscany, 4600 feet high, between Florence and Arezzo. A passport found on the body confirmed the identity. It showed the first name “Herbert.” The surname was effacted by the weather, but the birthplace Bundaberg was discernable. A worker proceeding to duty discovered Mr. Hinkler’s body in barren area, seldom traversed, in the Tuscan mountains several hours’ walk from Castel Franco di Sopra. There was a deep wound in the head, apparently sustained. when he was thrown from the machine as it crashed. The body was almost unrecognisable, and was found many yards from the machine. Three of the plane’s petrol tanks were empty, and the fourth contained little petrol. The oil tank was completely dry. Pieces of the plane’s wreckage were strewn over a wide area. A watch found on the body had stopped at three o’clock presumably ten hours after leaving Feltham aerodrome. Another report states that the body and wreckage were found on a desolate plateau by a party of woodcutters, halfway between Florence and Arezzo. The body was. partly burned amidst the wreckage of the machine, which must have caught fire after crashing among the trees. Besides being burned, the body had been mutilated, probably by foxes or wolves. There are no villages for miles around and the nearest road is five miles away. Hinkler’s body was taken to Castel San Niccolo. Later reports disclose that there was some petrol left in each of the tanks of Mr. Hinkler’s aeroplane, which crashed obliquely as if • the pilot had seen the ground looming ahead and made a desperate attempt to . rise clear. The machine was not badly smashed, the cabin being intact. A slight fire was evidently promptly extinguished by the storm. The body of Mr. Hinkler was 70 feet away from the machine and the helmet was wrenched off., The scene of the crash was 1000 feet from the summit of the mountain. A message from Florence states that Mr. Hinkler’s diary was found in a pocket in the aeroplane and records passing Le Bourget, Macon, Modane, Mount Cenis, Spezia and Florence. An entry indicates that Mr. Hinkler proposed then to fly over Mount Lavema and the Adriatic coast to Brindisi. A map found had the Australian route marked in red and blue ink. . An Italian airman named Magrini flew over and dropped flowers on behalf of the Fascist militia. The body has already been officially identified and the Italian Government is rendering the corpse official honours while awaiting instructions for burial. It is understood that the Commonwealth of Australia is prepared to bring the body to London with every honour, but Mr. Hinkler’s solicitor is waiting to hear the wishes of Mrs. Hinkler.

AUSTRALIA PAYS TRIBUTE. HINKLER A “PEERLESS PILOT.” Rec. 6.30 p.m. Sydney, April 30. Mrs. Hinkler, widow of Mr. Bert Hinkler, sailed from Sydney for England by the Strathaird a week ago. The liner is now nearing Fremantle. Mrs. Hinkler placed a wreath on the cenotaph at Melbourne on Anzac Day in memory of. her late husband. ' . Civil aviation circles are deeply grieved at Mr. Hinkler’s fate. He is described as a peerless pilot and a wonderful navigator. , 1 x J “I' have nothing but the greatest admiration for him, 9 ’ said Sir Charles Kingsford Smith at Melbourne, “and I deeply regret his death. The only mistake Mr. Hinkler made was his desire for secrecy. Perhaps he was also unwise in starting a long distance flight from that side of the world in the middle of winter. I know only too well the., terrible country where he came down.” Mr. Hinkler’s mother is now on her way from Brisbane to Perth by boat. Therefore she was unaware of the discovery of her son’s body. The Brisbane Turf Club. some years ago created a Hinkler Handicap in honour of Mr. Hinkler’s record flight from England to Australia in 1927. That event was run on Saturday and happened to coincide with the date on which the body was found in tragic circumstances. The jockeys wore black arm-bands. Flags were flown half-mast on. all public buildings in Mr. Hinkler’s native town. Bundaberg, where the citizens desire that the body should be brought for burial. MR. HINKLER’S GREAT RECORD. MANY SPLENDID PERFORMANCES. Mr. Bert Hinkler became famous in February, 1928, when he completed a solo flight from England to Australia in 15i days. For this feat the .International Aeronautical Federation in M gave him its gold medal, thus , ranking him with such aviators as Lindbergh and Cobham. He then built to his own design a small two-engined amphibian machine, but, failing to interest people in it in England, he took it to the United States. There he had no better luck, for he arrived in the midst of the big Going to Canada, Mr. Hinkler bought a Puss Moth aeroplane, and in this accomplished one of the, most remarkable feats in aviation. Leaving New York on October 27, 1931, he made a non-stop flight of 1700 miles to Jamaica—a record achievement. Most of the way he flew practically blind, for he had no light in his cabin, and the moon, on which he relied to illuminate his compass, failed him frequently. From Jamaica Mr. Hinkler crossed the Carribean Sea in heavy rain squalls to Maracaibo, Venezuela, and then went, on via Trinidad to Port Natal, Brazil. Aftei being much uelayed by the authorities he set out in November to cross the South Altantic. The clouds were both dense and of unusual depth and for six hours the airman flew only a few feet above the sea. Then, rising he tried to get above the clouds, but this being impossible, drove on through them at 10,000 feet, with a thunderstorm and terrific lightning raging around him. He landed on the African coast on November 27 within 10 miles of his objective Bathurst, British Gambia. He had

covered about 2000 miles in 22 hours, and was the first man to fly the South Atlantic from west to east single-hand-ed. The flight was also the . first ever made across the Atlantic in a light single-engined machine. In February, 1932, Mr. Hinkler was awarded the Segrave Trophy, valued at £IOOO, for “the most outstanding demonstration of the possibilities of transport by land, air or water,” while in March the International Aeronautical Federation pronounced him the most notable British pilot during 1931. On December 19 last it was stated in a cablegram that Mr. Hinkler had announced that his Australian flight had been postponed, but that he must go later for business. reasons. He then confirmed a report that he had accepted a. “circus” contract meanwhile. Mrs. Hinkler had arrived in Auckland by the Rangitata on December 21 on her way to Australia to meet her husband. Mr. Hinkler left Feltham aerodrome at 3 a.m. on January 8 on an attempt on the England to Australia flight record of 8 days 20 hours set by C. W. A. Scott. However, although a special watch was kept at every aerodrome fringing the Mediterranean, no sign was seen of the airman. He had kept his plans secret, and only the staff of the aerodrome and the Customs officials were present when he took off. He intended to make five hops to Darwin, his first step being Brindisi, which he should have reached by nightfall. , The weather was not favourable, log over the Channel giving way to storms in the Rhone Valley and Italy. The Air Ministery had imposed rather exacting conditions before it issued an airworthy certificate, even questioning some of the devices Hinkler used on his earlier Australian record flight. With absolutely no news of the airman being sighted anywhere, grave anxiety was felt, but searchers were handicapped owing to the secrecy o Hinkler’s plans and lack of knowledge of the route he intended to take. Finally his London agents disclosed that he intended to proceed via Brindisi or Athens, Aleppo, Baghdad, Basra, Jask, Karachi, Jhansi, Allahabad, Calcutta, Rangoon, Alorstar, Singapore, and then by way of the Dutch East Indies. The Air Ministry on January 13 broadcast a request to France, Italy, and Switzerland that regular fliers keep a sharp lookout for Hinkler, and similarly telegraphed Turkey and Bulgaria. Lady Bailey, whose Puss Moth with extra tanks ready for an attempt on the Capetown record, was willing to search for Hinkler, but, like everyone else, wondered where to start. Arthur Whitelaw and several other Australian firms promised to contribute to the expenses of the search for Hinkler. Captain Hope and Italian airmen carefully examined the Alps, often, making risky flights, but without result. It was no secret that Hinkler went out to challenge fortune. He had spent a good deal of his own money in advancing the cause of aviation. The young men of Shealing, a village on the outskirts of Southampton, had been guarding jeolously the tiny amphibian two-seater monoplane that was housed in the garage a few yards from the house. They knew that Hinklers hopes of a fortune centred in the tiny craft, which he built to his own design with the help of Mr. R. H. Bound, a young Southampton engineer, and ot a local organ builder. Hinkler hoped to startle the w o rl °- with the machine, into which he had put almost every penny he possessed. He tried unsuccessfully in England and America in .1930 and 1931 to secure financial backing to enable him to begin mass production. His failure to do so he later described as the bitterest disappointment of his life. His last venture, an attempt to regam the coveted England to Australia record, was a desperate attempt to rebuild his sadly depleted fortune. If Hinkler had reached Australia it was unlikely he would have returned to England. He had frequently suggested that Australia held prospects of success far greater than he might ever hope to attain in England or America. i