Farnborough Tragedy
During the second public day of the S.B.A.C. show at Farnborough on Saturday, September 6th, the first prototype de Havilland 110 supersonic fighter disintegrated in the air. It is with deep regret that Flight records the deaths of its crew and 29 members of the public. A further 60 were injured - many only slightly - by parts of the aircraft. Messages of sympathy have been sent to relatives of the victims by Her Majesty The Queen and by the Minister of Supply, the Society of British Aircraft Constructors, and the de Havilland Aircraft Co., Ltd. This was the first accident - major or minor - to have occurred since the post-war revival of the annual SBAC show in 1947.
Indian-Ocean Service
The reputation of Qantas Empire Airways as long-range operators has been further enhanced by the inauguration of their 8,665-mile service linking Sydney and Johannesburg via Perth, the Cocus Islands and Mauritius. The first scheduled flight was completed on September 4th, when the silver-and-maroon Constellation, VH-EAD, Charles Kingsford Smith, landed at Palmietfontein Airport after a successful three and a half day flight.
Heinkel to the Rescue?
Britain's aircraft industry shows "a certain lack of energy and production capacity", according to Prof. Ernst Heinkel, speaking to newspapermen in Germany on his return from Farnborough. "She has many orders for the magnificent Comet jet airliner, but her delivery times are too long. That is where I would like to step in with my organisation and my workers." The Herr Professor also thinks "it is nonsense for five Western States to design ten types of aircraft to oppose the standardised production of the Soviet Bloc." There are now four Heinkel factories in operation in Western Germany, making machine-tools and insecticide-distributing machines.
In Brief
United Air Lines and Continental Air Lines arediscussing the possibility of an interchangeagreement which would result in through services by DC-6s between Seattle, Portland, Denver (the proposed interchange point), Wichita and Tulsa. If agreement is reached the companies will file an application for the service with the Civil Aeronautics Board.
Source: Flight International
