AEROPLANE CRASH.

Temuka Leader, Issue 10487, 24 December 1929, Page 1

AEROPLANE CRASH.

LONG DISTANCE FLIERS KILLED. LONDON, December 18. i Messages from Tunis state that the Fairey ’plane crashed in a storm in the mountainous region of Zaghouan, southward of Tunis. Arabs discovered the bodies beneath the wreckage. Troops were hurried to the scene and are bringing the bodies to Tunis to-morrow. No signal had been received from the big ’plane’s wireless since passing Sardinia at four o’clock on Tuesday. It was thought possibly that the Fairey was out of range of home stations, and there was no reason to believe that a disaster had occurred. After twentyfour hours waiting, however, forebodings were aroused, and these were confirmed at eleven o’clock by a message reporting the crash. The aeronautical correspondent of “The Times” suggests that the airmen had flown too far east to avoid the main Atlas range, and had reached Zaghouan Spur, where the range averages 4000 ft., and which they must round to set the course for Capetown between sunset and moonrise. Flying low to try to fix the position, they struck the mountain in darkness, when, in a few minutes, the worst risks

would have been over. [Squadron-Leader A. G. JonesWilliams and Flight-Lieutenant Jenkins, in an R.A.F. Fairey monoplane, set out from Cranwell Aerodrome in an effort to break the world’s non-stop record by flying to Capetown. They were not heard of for some hours, but Air Ministry officials did not feel anxious as they considered that the radio transmitter may have failed. The route after leaving Sardinia was to be by way of Tunis, Chat in the French Sahara, Duala in the Cameroons, Benguella in Portuguese West Africa, and Walflsh Bay in South-West Africa. The course selected was to enable the pilots to avoid the mountainous country, particularly in the earlier stages. In order to beat the existing record, it was necessary, under the international regulations, to fly at least 100 kilometres, or 662 miles more than the French figure, so that the British pilots had to fly a minimum of 4975 miles measured on a great circular course, to secure the record for Britain. This meant that they must reach a point in South-West Africa about thirty miles south of Kunene river, and about halfway between Benguella and Walflsh Bay. The aircraft was fitted for this flight with a short-wave wireless transmitting set to transmit routine reports, giving the position every four hours, at 8 o’clock, 12 o’clock, and so forth. The ’plane was not equipped to receive messages during the flight. The possibility of a forced landing was recognised, and to meet such an emergency the airmen were equipped with sporting guns and ammunition. They had also with them curious scimitar-shaperi knives, by means of which they would have been able to cut their way through the jungle if necessary.]