some clarity!
INQUEST ON TWO AIRWOMEN
THE CRASH AT HATFIELD
The inquest on the bodies of Miss Sicele
O’Brien, the airwoman, and Mrs. Gordon
Gallien, who were burned to death when
an aeroplane piloted by Miss O’Brien
crashed near Hartsfield Hall, Hatfield
Herts. last Thursday night, was held at
St Albans yesterday.
Miss O’Brien was the daughter of Sir
Timothy O’Brien. She won the first women’s
air race in this country, and in 1928 lost a
leg in an aeroplane crash. Mrs. Gordon
Gallien was the wife of Captain Gordon Gallien,
an engineer of the Anglo-Persian Oil Com-
Pany, who is on his way home from Persia.
She was a great traveler and had been
Awarded a diploma of the Royal Geographical
Society for an expedition in Tanganyika.
Sir Timothy O’Brien said he recognized a
ring as one which belonged to his daughter.
She had her A and B certificates, and was one
of the only two women to hold both.
Inspector Goodship said that other articles
found on Miss O’Brien were too charred to be
recognizable.
Donald Frederick Alsop, an accountant, of
Shepherd’s House, Shepherd–market, May-
fair, said that he had known Mrs Gallien all
his life. She was a pilot. A latch-key found
in the wreckage corresponded with a key
of Mrs Gallien’s London home which was in
the possession of Mrs. Alsop.
Dr.Percy M. Brittain, of Hatfield, said that
when he arrived at the scene of the accident
the aeroplane was on fire, with two bodies
inside. In his opinion death in each case was
due to shock from burns.
Arthur Potter, of Hatfield, timekeeper and
night watchman at the De Havilland Flying
School, said that at 8pm on Thursday a two-
seater biplane made a good landing on the
aerodrome. The machine was refilled, and
later the pilot and her passenger had tea in
the club room. When he was pushing the
machine towards the petrol tank the pilot said,
“Don’t lift too high, because I am rather
heavy on the nose,” After he got the machine
started Miss O’Brien went a few yards and
called to him, “You will have to come and
help me, I can’t turn this thing across there.”
He pointed out that the spot which Miss
O’Brien indicated was not the one from which
pilots usually took off, but Miss O’Brien
appeared to be in a hurry. She began to taxi
and went a considerable distance in compari-
son with what other pilots usually did before
her machine left the ground.
“She left the ground about 18in, or 2ft,”
the witness said, “then dropped again, took
on a little more speed, and eventually got off
the ground and climbed against the wind. I
thought that the trees were sheltering the
wind, but when I saw that she was above the
trees I was satisfied that she had got off all
right. A gamekeeper who saw her take off
suddenly cried to me, ‘Look, Arthur, she’s
down.’ I saw the machine spinning to the
ground. The aeroplane struck the ground
with her nose and burst into flame immedi-
ately. When she rose she turned right, which
is against the rules of the aerodrome. The
machine crashed just outside the aerodrome
in a hayfield.”
The DEPUTY CORONER. (Mr F. Turner). –
How high had she risen when she began to
fall? – About 100ft. It is difficult to estimate.
He identified the photograph of Mrs Gallien
in a newspaper as that of the passenger in
the machine
Herbert James Catlin, a Hatfield labourer,
said he saw the machine spin once or twice
before crashing to the ground and bursting into
flames.
Harry Albert Love, pilot in charge of the
Hull Aero Club, said on Thursday morning Miss
O’Brien and Mrs. Gallien arrived by car at
the club to call for the machine. Miss O’Brien
said she was going to a gymkhana or some-
thing. “She asked me to give her a few land-
ings and racing turns as she intended to go in
for a race there. Weather conditions were un-
favourable, so she hung about a bit. Later
conditions improved, so I took the machine up
to test it. I found everything quite satis-
factory.” He added that the machine was an
old one which had been reconditioned. After
the test he went up with Miss O’Brien, who
piloted the machine. Miss O’Brien before
leaving asked to have the rudder-bar in Mrs.
Gallien’s seat adjusted so that Mrs. Gallien
could work it. Miss O’Brien would perhaps
find difficulty in getting the machine out of a
spin because of her artificial leg, and he thought
she wanted the rudder bar adjusted so that
Mrs. Gallien could help her out of a spin.
Major James Cooper, Inspector of Accidents,
Air Ministry, said that he thought the machine
had hit the ground after a spin. The con-
ditions were consistent with a stall. No part
of the structure of the machine had failed in
the air and none of the controls was defective.
It was quite impossible to say if engine trouble
had developed. It appeared that Miss O’Brien
took the shortest run into the wind, and one
was forced to the conclusion that probably she
pulled the machine off the ground a little early.
The DEPUTY CORONER said he did not think
there could be any blame attached to the pilot
or the passenger. A verdict of “Accidental
death” was returned.