It will perhaps be some consolation to the relatives of those who lost their lives to feel that good may come out of evil in this way Sir Lionel Heald, Attorney General

The Attorney General, Sir Lionel Heald QC, told the first day of the inquiry that initial suspicions of sabotage were unfounded.

He said the painstaking analysis of thousands of fragments of the Comet involved in the Elba crash had revealed that the damage was caused by a fault in the plane itself.

In what Sir Lionel called "one of the most remarkable pieces of scientific detective work ever done", a team led by Sir Arnold Hall, director of the Royal Aircraft Establishment at Farnborough, subjected models, full-size aircraft and replicas to the most elaborate and searching tests ever carried out on an airliner.

One fragment collected from the scene of the crash showed that a crack had developed due to metal fatigue near the radio direction finding aerial window, situated in the front of the cabin roof.

The investigators found that a small weakness such as this would quickly deteriorate under pressure, and would rapidly lead to a sudden and general break-up of the fuselage.

In tests on another Comet aircraft, Sir Lionel added, the investigators had found that up to 70% of the aircraft's ultimate stress under pressure was concentrated on the corners of the aircraft's windows.

Sir Lionel said the findings of the investigation would lead to a general improvement in the safety of passenger air travel.

"It will perhaps be some consolation to the relatives of those who lost their lives to feel that good may come out of evil in this way," he added.

The hearings continue tomorrow.

Comet crashes in the 1950s

3 March 1953: Canadian Pacific Airline Comet crashes on take-off from Calcutta airport killing 11 people on board due to pilot error 10 January 1954: BOAC jet crashes off the Mediterranean island of Elba killing 35 people on board 8 April 1954: South African Airways Comet crashes en route from Rome to Johannesburg - all 14 passengers and seven crew die.

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