All Mark Iv Solents
p. 19 · Read in the full issue
Disruption of Services As
Grounded
Suva, Feb. 28.
IHERE was a pile-up of air . passengers in Western Samoa and Tahiti late in February, hen all Mark IV Solent flying »ats were grounded without warn g all over the world. This dis pted TEAL’S Fiji-Tahiti service.
It was suddenly discovered that e Mark IV Solents contain similar etal to that in the Comets—all which were grounded last year ter three had crashed, apparently the result of metal fatigue.
Only Mark IV Solents are affected Mark Ill’s are in the clear. Only SAL and Aquila air services, in the irld, have Mark IV’s—and it is the jasure of Aquila’s bad luck that it gently bought three Mark IV’s
>M Teal.
FEAL has one Mark 111 in re •ve in NZ. While this is being b ready for service, TEAL borrowed Qantas Sandringham which *ived in Suva on Feb. 27; and it s gone on to-day to Samoa to ng back stranded TEAL passeng i from there. jater this week, this Sandringham ly go to Tahiti to bring Coral ute passengers from there to Fiji, transhipment to NZ.