“NO STRUCTURAL WEAKNESS”
PUBLIC INQUIRY TO BE HELD
No structural weakness has been found in any of
the Comet
aircraft which have been stripped and examined at London Airport since
the loss of one of
the Comet fleet off the island of Elba. Further medical evidence
is now being
obtained in Italy on the signs and possibility of an explosion within
the crashed
aircraft.
The Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation have announced that
there will be a
public inquiry into the cause of the disaster.
The result of “careful examination” of the Comet aircraft now out
of
service was announced by British Overseas Airways Corporation on
Saturday. The statement
said: “The whole operational fleet is now at London Airport, and the
last aircraft to
come in, that from Tokyo, will be stripped for examination as soon as
the others are
completed.
“The corporation is restarting normal crew training and
familiarisation flights
as from Monday, January 18. No passengers will be carried until
the last of the
Comets in the fleet has been fully inspected. The possibility of
sabotage cannot be
overlooked, and special security investigators are being sent to points
along the route to
the Far East.......
“Makers of underwater television are preparing a set intended to
be capable of
use up to a depth of 600 ft. Its effectiveness must naturally
depend on the state of
the sea floor in the Mediterranean off Elba and on the clarity of the
water.”
Although the B.O.A.C. statement mentions the possibility of
sabotage, this does not
mean that investigations are proceeding with this more in mind than any
other likely
cause.
MEDICAL INVESTIGATIONS
The statement was issued by B.O.A.C. on Saturday
after a meeting in
the hanger at London Airport, where the examination of Comet aircraft
went on day and
night last week . The meeting was held after the return from Elba of
B.O.A.C.
investigating medical officers. Among those who attended were Sir
Miles Thomas,
chairman of B.O.A.C., Sir Harold Whittingham, B.O.A.C.
director of medical
services, Dr A S R Peffers, assistant director of medical services, who
returned
from Elba on Friday, and Group Captain W K Stewart, officer in charge
of the R.A.F.
Medical Establishment, Farnborough.
Later on Saturday, Sir Harold Whittingham and Group Captain
Stewart left for Rome to
continue the medical investigations which, in the absence
of reclaimed remains
of the aircraft, B.O.A.C. stated, constituted the most effective line
of investigation.
The Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation announcement said
that the Minister had
decided that further investigation into the causes and circumstances of
the loss of the
Comet aircraft should take the form of a public inquiry. The statement
continued:
“This follows the announcement by the Italian Government that their
preliminary
investigation into the accident has established that it took place
outside Italian
territory and that they will therefore hand over to H.M.
Government the subsequent
conduct of the investigation. The Italian Government has kindly
consented to appoint two
accredited representatives to assist the investigation. H.M. Government
are greatly
indebted to the Italian Government for their generous and unstinted
efforts in the
preliminary investigation.”
________________________
AIR MAILS IN LOST COMET
The Postmaster-General has been advised
that the B.O.A.C.
Comet which crashed off Elba carried mail from Bangkok, Karachi,
Kuwait, and
Rangoon. Air mails from Manila and Hongkong, and probably from Tokyo,
were carried by the
P.A.L. aircraft which crashed at Rome on Thursday.
From THE TIMES (London) 18th
January, 1954