FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1959
1959 - 0411.PDF
204 PLIGHT, 6 February 1959 AIR COMMERCE ... SOUTHALL ACCIDENT INQUEST AT the resumed inquest, at Ealing last week, on the seven people• (including three aircrew) killed when Viking G-AIJE crashed on houses at Southall on September 2, the jury returned an openverdict after deliberating for an hour. As soon as the verdict was announced there was a clash betweenDr. J. A. Gorsky, the Deputy Coroner for West Middlesex, and Mr. Ronald Hopkins, counsel for Independent Air Travel Ltd.,the owners of the aircraft. Addressing the Deputy Coroner, Mr. Hopkins said: — "This inquiry being now completed, would you please allow me tosay two things? The first is that my clients desire to offer sympathy to the relatives of all those persons who died and to those who suffered Construction of Westland's heliport at Battersea—on the River Thames near central London—is now nearing completion in this crash. The second is that in the course of the hearing and duringyour summing up to the jury you made a number of assumptions and accusations against Independent Air Travel Ltd. and their employeeswhich were not supported by a shred of evidence. "Unfortunately these observations may again find their way into thePress, as has happened throughout thf inquiry, where they would be read by persons who have had no opportunity of forming their ownjudgment in the matter. I am, therefore, desired to state publicly thai my clients strenuously dispute all the charges you have seen fit to leve!against them, and if the verdict of the jury had been other than in faci it was, they would on advice have applied to the High Court to set itaside. They will now look forward to the day when an impartial tribunal will investigate at a proper public inquiry the causes of thisunfortunate accident." Dr. Gorsky: "Mr. Hopkins, are your clients suggesting this has notbeen impartial?" Mr. Hopkins: "I make no suggestion at all."Dr. Gorsky: "You made a suggestion that is equal to—in fact, more serious than—the one I made."Mr. Hopkins: "You quoted Pontius Pilate at an earlier stage in these proceedings. I will now quote him also: 'Quod scripsi scripsi.'"("What I have written, I have written.") Dr. Gorsky: "And we await the reply. My conscience is clear. Thishas been quite impartial. I could have said a lot more." Earlier, in his summing-up, Dr. Gorsky had made a series ofstrong criticisms, saying that there had been "a considerable amount of laxity" in the conduct of the company, and that itspilots, including Capt. Kozubski, the managing director, "appeared to have a considerable amount of licence." In view of the conflicts which have characterized the inquest,both at the first and at the resumed hearings, Flight feels dis- inclined to report it in any detail, preferring to await the publicinquiry into the accident. In this connection it is apposite to quote a statement made by the British Airline Pilots' Association in theJanuary issue of their journal The Log. This, which refers to the first hearing, says: — "The Committee noted that the procedures which had been adoptedby the Coroner and the evidence which he had called for were equiva- lent to those of a Public Inquiry. The Committee noted that no oppor-tunity had been given for a detailed examination of the evidence and therefore each Counsel and his Advisers were handicapped when wit-nesses were being examined; a situation which would not arise at a properly conducted Court of Inquiry. Members expressed their dis-satisfaction with the way the Inquest had been conducted, but had to accept that the Coroner was answerable only to the Crown and there-fore had extraordinary powers." BREVITIES Eagle Aviation have taken delivery of a third DC-6C. Theaircraft, registered G-APSA, is being converted to take 100 seats. * * * Mr. R. G. Grout, chairman of General Steam Navigation Co. Ltd., has been appointed to the Board of British Aviation Services Ltd. * * * Britannia 102s will replace Stratocruisers on B.O.A.C./NigerianAirways/Ghana Airways services between Europe and West Africa from mid-April. * * * The Ceylon Government have increased their share in AirCeylon to 74 per cent, the balance being retained by K.L.M. The local airline's manager, Mr. J. Fernando, has disclosed that AirCeylon made a profit of Rs. 200,000 last year. * * * Further negotiations between the British and Indian govern-ments on the bilateral agreement have been postponed until discussions are completed between B.O.A.C. and Air India. All-India Radio has reported that traffic data are already being exchanged and that a conference on revenue pooling will prob-ably be held in May. Routine inspection recently revealed an 8in hairline crack in the skin of a PanAm 707-121 near the wing-root. * * * Mr. Ernst van der Beugel, an expert in foreign affairs, will become a director and acting president of K.L.M. in January 1960. * * * The C.A.B. has denied Northwest Airlines permission to com-plete a management contract with Thai Airways. * * * A six-day suspension of all air services in Mexico as a result of a pilots' strike ended last week when the government temporarily took over the local airlines. * * *J.A.L.'s plans for 1959 include a Tokyo - Honolulu - Los Angeles service from May 1, a Tokyo - Seattle non-stop servicefrom June 1, a Tokyo - Taipei - Hong Kong service from July 1. * * * An Air Charter Tudor freighter crashed on take-off from Brindisi on January 27. Two members of the crew of six lost their lives. * * * Representatives of Sabena, Air France, D.L.H., Alitalia and K.L.M. are due to meet in Paris on February 27 to consider possible forms of integration within the general framework of the Common Market. * * * Dismissal of Airwork senior pilots, following the reorganization involving Air Charter and Transair, is the subject of an article by the general secretary of B.A.L.P.A. in the January issue of the Association's journal The Log. * * * The M.T.C.A. have proposed to Aeroflot that the Tu-104 use London Airport on a trial basis. This would cover the employ- ment of techniques to reduce noise level to that of the Comet 4 or Boeing 707. Aeroflot have also been asked for an assurance that international standards of airworthiness be followed. The first Comet 4 for Aerolineas Argentinas flew on January 27 M
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
