H—37

The Drawings Library, Technical Library, and Technical Index have been maintained up to date and fully amended. In addition to the activities recorded under the Section headings above, a total of 8 serious accidents were investigated and reported upon by the Division at the scene of the crash, while 114 mechanical defects or failures were recorded, investigated, and reported on. In September, 1949, one of the Branch's Aeronautical Engineers was seconded to the United Kingdom for a period of two years to gain wider experience and keep the Branch apprised of the latest engineering techniques. Monthly reports are received from this officer. PART VII—AIR TRANSPORT OPERATIONS Air transport operations can be classified under four headings : (1) Scheduled domestic services. (2) Non-scheduled domestic services. (3) International services. (4) Aerial work. (1) Scheduled Domestic Services

As was the case last year, scheduled operations in New Zealand were maintained exclusively by the New Zealand National Airways Corporation. Traffic figures again showed encouraging increases over the totals for the preceding year, as is evidenced by the following comparisons :

The routes over which the Corporation operated are given in Appendix D, while detailed traffic statistics appear in Appendices E and F. Minor changes in the frequency of services and in route patterns occurred during the year, but the only change of particular significance was the termination of the New Plymouth - Hamilton service, which was inaugurated on 13th June, 1949. The Corporation continued to operate the freight services between Paraparaumu and Woodbourne and Paraparaumu and Harewood under charter to New Zealand Railways. At present a regular schedule of six return trips daily, with additional trips when necessary, is maintained on the Paraparaumu-Woodbourne route, a single return trip weekly being operated to Harewood.

Traffic figures in respect of the railway freight services are included in the statistics for domestic scheduled services, but the following summary is extracted for more convenient reference :

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— 1948-49. 1949-50. Increase. Per Cent. Passengers 174,836 204,707 17-0 Freight (lb.) 19,220,891 24,547,480 27-7 Mail (lb.) 752,492 873,305 16-5

Year Ended Trips Mown. Hours Flown. Miles Flown. Freight. Freight Ton-miles. 31st March, 1947 31st March, 1948 31st March, 1949 31st March, 1950 299 1,786 2,230 3,018 173 1,114 1,482 1,949 22,585 138,266 181,630 232,042 lb. 2,040,101 13,081,232 17,286,265 21,789,779 71,297 448,891 600,682 745,781