Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-10-28
Aeroplane Smashed on Its
First Trial Test.
AVIATOR is DISAPPOINTED
Ascribes Accident to Failure in As
sembling All Parts.
TWO WEEKS TO REPAIR IT
Wreck Occurred Near Hampstead, L.
l., on Sunday-Flight of 800
Feet at 3 Feet From Ground.

NEW YORK. October 2S.-During the
first trial of A NJ. Herring's aeroplane-
and with which he will later try to meet
the requirements of government test
which took place at dawn last Sunday
morning. the machine was wrecked.
At least two weeks will be required 10
reconstruct all the broken parts so pre-
llminary tests may go on again
Herring escaped injury. but he was
much disheartened over his ill fortune
While he declares the accident was
largely due TO haste and neglect in as
sembling the parts. he considers the re-
suit of his first effort with the new craft
as disappointing.
Flew for 800 Feet.
AS it was, he made a flight Of about
300 feet at an altitude of three feet
Then. in attempting to turn to the right
certain parts of the machinery failed to
work properly. In an instant the ma
chine was ploughing up the sand and
smashing itself into splinters.
The trial was made on the Hampstead
plains. a short distance from Garden City.
l.. l. In order to escape all curious spec
tators Herring had selected SPOT re-
mote from any habtation and had gone
out there late Saturday night.
The aeroplane was packed in a large
trunk. He wanted to be entirely alone
In making the first flight. so did not even
take workman to assist him.
Before it was fairly light he had the
machine assembled. 1t was with some
misgivings that he started the motors be-
cause he realized it had been put together
hastily, and, what was still worse, there
were some important parts of the mech
anism lacking altogether.
The friction clutch. used to minimize the
strain on the propeller. was not in place
and several other parts Of lesser impor-
lance were wanting.
Wrecked Making Turn.
But he was determined to give the
machine trial. So, after three efforts,
he succeeded in getting it off the ground
His mechanical starting device was an
improvised affair, which hampered him
considerably, but the motors or the one
used, did not work we'll and that made
matters worse
However, when the machine was clear
from the ground it glided along steadily
against fairly brisk wind at about nine
teen miles an hour, until the operator at
tempted to use the side control. 1t was
Herring's intention to turn the machine
slightly to the right, but intead of that it
made a sharp swing in that direction, the
machinery suddenly collapsed and the
whole thing was down in the sand before
it could be discovered just what went
wrong first
When Herring wriggled out of the
wreckage he found one skid broken one
propeller axle snapped off. the propeller
frame broken. propeller splintered and
the transmission shaft with the universal
joint entirely out of commission
After the fall Herring looked about to
see If any one had witnessed his chagrin.
and, seeing no one concluded he was
alone with his grief. He was mistaken,
for at least one person had witnessed
every move that was made.
Accident Hard to Explain
When asked for his explanation of the
accident yesterday afternoon Herring
said:
sit is hard to tell what did it. because
in such an accident many things are