Did Suva Fail?
pp. 11-12 · Read in the full issue
P.A.A. Flight from Noumea to Auckland
From Our Own Correspondent SUVA, Sept. 8.
WHEN the Pan American Airways fly ing-boat “Californian Clipper” flew from San Francisco to Auckland at the end of August, she was held up in Canton Is. for one whole day, owing, it was reported, to the absence of weather reports from Sua. One statement was that Suva’s failure to send out these weather reports had proved embarrassing to Pan American Airways and thrown the whole meteorological service out of gear.
Criticism of Amalgamated Wireless, Ltd., and of the Fiji Government was pub lished in New Zealand newspapers.
The lack of data complained of was the fault of neither the Fiji Government nor of Amalgamated Wireless (A/sia>, Limited.
Pan American Airways, it appears, originally asked the Fiji Government for weather reports covering the whole of the Western Pacific, which the Fiji Govern ment was quite unable to supply. But the Fiji Government did arrange to provide the fullest information about weather conditions in Fiji and Rotuma. This in formation was made available to Pan
American Airways at the times when it was indicated that such information was required.
Moreover the weather reports requested by Noumea were transmitted from Suva to Noumea by Amalgamated Wireless within a few minutes of the receipt of the request. The time schedule between Suva and Canton Island, in which weather reports are given, was adhered to completely, and there were no com plaints.
On September 3, when the Pan Ameri can Airways clipper flew from Auckland to Noumea, she was deflected slightly from the direct course and made a couple of circles over Suva. The Clipper gave a special salute over the mast of the radio station in Suva, and this was accepted as an indication that the master of the Clipper was grateful for the weather in formation which the radio station had sent that day.
From Suva on to Noumea, the A.W.A. station in Suva was in continuous com munication with the Clipper and the radio operator on the Clipper stated that he could not have wished for better ser vice or more cordial co-operation.
Pan American Airways’ Auckland office reports:— No meteorological details were re ceived from Fiji between 2 p.m. on Sat urday (August 26) and 9 a.m. on August 27; while Rotuma Island, which lay half-way between Canton Island and Noumea, was silent from Friday morning August 2o until tne morning of August 27. Consequently, the flying-boat, which was to fly from Canton Island to Noumea on August 27, did not leave Canton Island until Monday, August 28.