London, only 21.
A terrible alr accident occurred this afternoon near Gravesend to Fokker machine engaged in the-air taxi service between Lo Touquet and Croydon, as a result of which the pilot and' his assistant and their four passengers all well-knowe members of society, lost their The passengers were the Mara of Dafferin, Sir Edward Ward, Bart, Viscountess Ednam and Mrs, Loeffor. The pilot was Colonel Henderson and the assistant-pilot Mr. Shearing. Both were ex-air officers.
According to eye witnesses, ther was apparently an explosion in mid~ air as the machine was passing over Meopham, near Gravesend. The engine was found in the garden of house in the village and one of the wings two miles distant, The machine belonged to Colonel Henderson, who was using it on behalf of the Walcot Air Lines which operate an air taxi service from Croydon. It had earlier in to Lo Touquet and to Croydon, and: to fetch Lord Dufferin and his friends. The crash occurred on the return journey. Flying conditions had been extremely dificult throughout the da There were four passengers:—The Marquis of Dufferin and Ava, Speaker of the Senate of Northern Treland since 1921, who succeeded his brother, the second marquis, in 1918, He was 55 years of age:
Viscountess Ednam, was formerly Rosemary Millicent, oldest daughter of the fourth Duke of Sutherland and sister of the present Duk She is survived by her husband, Viscount Ednam, and their three sons, Viscount Ednam, was a well Known company director and was Conservative M.P. for Hornsey Borough 1921-24, was the heir of the Earl of Dudley.
Captain Sir Edward Simons Ward, Bart, late of the Grenadier Guards, is' succeeded by his brother, Lieutenant-Commander Mel~ vill Willis Ward, n.s.cu. M. (ree tired). Sir Edward Ward was 48 years of age.
Mrs, Loeffler was a prominent figure in London social life, All Precautions Taken Suly 22.
The Under-Secretary of State for Air, Mr, F. Montague, was asked to state, what control the Air Ministry exercised over passenger-cartying aircraft; whether such machines vere subjected to periodical in tions; how often such inspections were made; and whether he was satisfied that the regulations were carried out in such & manner reduce accidents toa minimum.
Mr, Montague said it was difficult, within the compass of a reply to a question, to summarize the very elaborate regulations prescribed by the Air Ministry in order to assuce the safety of passenger-carrying alt= craft.
Whilst he was not in a position, Mr, Montague continued, to make any definite statement in regard to the machine that crashed until the investigation of the Air Ministry to the accident was complete, ho was satisfied that the regulations were most strictly adhered to and that everything possible was done by those responsible for air services to reduce the possibility of accidents to a minimum.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.