Another Dragon Crashes

in New Guinea

From a Correspondent

Port Moresby, July 20.

A DRAGON Rapide aircraft, belonging to Qantas Airways, crashed between Lae and Bulolo on July 15. The two passengers, Mr. O. P. Blanden, Min ing Warden of Wau. and his wife, were unhurt, but the pilot received minor in juries.

The plane, in the best tradition of New Guinea forced landings, was pancaked into the spreading branches of a large tree and here passengers and pilot spent the night. They were rescued by a land party the following day.

New Guinea has had a series of air accidents in recent months. Two of them have been fatal, and Dragons seem to have a particularly unfortunate record.

There is, consequently, some anxiety felt among air travellers in the Territory who are forced to fly in this type of aircraft.

The Civil Aviation Department, how ever, which has a unique safety record in Australia, is making determined efforts to bring New Guinea flying conditions up to the same high standard. They are policing the services rigidly, and ground ing planes for the smallest imperfection.

A party of Civil Aviation officials has recently conducted an exhaustive survey of every existing or projected airstrip or route in the Territory. It is planned to run a modern, well-equipped and well controlled network of internal services to link up with the overseas air routes which will eventually take in New Guinea.

Civil Aviation authorities have con ferred with the Administration to estimate future requirements in the Territory. (EDITORIAL NOTE; In the years be fore the war, the air companies operating in New Guinea had a safety record second to none. And this was in the days when pilots flew without aid of directional wireless and without most of the instruments now installed in modern aircraft. They used landing-fields that were roughly hewn from the jungle, or were merely mountain ridges cleared of bush. Not even the Civil Aviation De partment will be able to overcome New Guinea’s natural hazards to safe flying terrain and climate).

Ratu Mara Uluilakeba, of Fiji, who is an undergraduate at Oxford, has been successful in recent athletic competitions and has become a member of the Achilles Club, which is open to Oxford or Cam bridge blues or near-blues. In an unoffi cial inter-University meeting last month Ratu Mara won the high jump by clearing 8 feet. He has been selected for an Ox ford University athletics team which is to tour the British and American zones of Germany.