Omaha daily bee., 1909-07-20
DROPS INTOCHANNEL
French Aviator Tries to Cross Sea to
England.
coon START, BUT MOTOR BREAKS
BIG MouopIanc Files smoothly Three
Hundred Feet H'Eh and Then
Fails Into wRteF-Resoued
by government Boat.

CALAlS July H.-Herbert Latham. the
French aviator, made a daring but un-
successful attempt to cross the English
channel In his monoplane this morning.
He got away splendldly under perfect
conditions, from the top OF Chalk cliff at
sangette, and had covered over half the
distance at an average height OF 500 feet.
when the motor slowed down and he was
obliged to descend. The air space of the
wings, however. kept the machine %afloat,
and the monoplane, lying like a wounded.
bird, was stretched out on the water
when the French torpedo boat destroyer
Harpon, which had kept abreast through
out the Journey, came alongside and picked
up the aviator.
Mr.. Latham sttr sat on the saddle, which
is located above the wings and behind the
motor, calmly smoking a cigarette. He
announced that he was not discouraged
by the failure and would try again as soon
as the machine was repaired.
The injuries to the monoplane were
slight, the principal damage being caused
when It was hauled aboard the torpedo
boat destroyer. The motor is intact.
Anxious Time for watchers.
The watchers on both shores had an
anxious hour after the machine was lost
to view behind a thin veil Of fog on the
French side and apprehension was not al
.layed until the semaphore at Calais re-
ported that the Harpon was returning with
Latham unlnjured aboard. On landing the
aeronau was given a frantic reception.
The failure of the motor is attributed
TO q bad carburetter on the monoplane,
which, when 400 feet in the air, began to
descend. When the machine was 200 feet
above the water NJ. Latham shut off the
power and the machine glided down gently,
alighting on the waves with hardly q
splash.
Latham's start was made from the top
of the cliff at Sangatte, and under pro-
pltlous circumstances. A clear, starlight
night indicated that perfect conditions
would prevail at daybreak. Anticipating
an early start, M. Latham slept in a
shed of the old tunnel works at the foot
of the cliff, while M. Lebavasseur, the
Associated Press correspondent, and the
constructor Of the machine, who were to
give the signal when the start was to be
made, slept on board the torpedo boat
destroyer Harpon, off Cape Girls Nez.
When all was in readiness, the monoplane
was pushed back 200 yeards from the
crest Of the cliff, which has a precipitlous
fall Of 200 feet to the sea. Latham was
clad III a knickerbocker suit and had
donned a life preserver. He showed no
signs Of nervousness as he shook hands
with his friends on mounting the saddle.
Start the motor" he cried TO his as
sistants and then with a nod of his head,
and the words, See you in Dover" threw
the starting lever off, the machine run
ming along the ground with increased mo-
mentum at every turn.
Machine Rises Easily.
Just before reaching the edge of the
cliff, the %aeronaut touched the horizontal
lever, and the machine, with its white
outstretched wings, rose gracefully and
sailed out over the shining waters amid a
roar of cheers from the crowd on the
shore. The monoplane after leaving the
cliff, assembled gradually until 1t probably
was 800 feet above the sea. Then, straight
as an arrow, It continued it's flight towards
the English coast, apparently under per-
feet control, at a rate Of about IS miles
an hour. The black huller destroyer Harpcn,
kept almost under it's aerial companion,
and at the end of fifteen minutes both
disappeared in the haze on the horizon.
When the torpedo boat destroyer entered
the harbor at $50 with NJ. Latham and Lee
bevasseur aboard, the aviator received a
tremendous ovation, and on landing 1t
was with difficulty he made his way
through the throngs. He was compelled to
kiss several girls who threw their arms
about his neck,
NJ. Latham said the motor failed about
IL miles out, and owing to the slowing down
Of the engines, he was unable TO remain
longer in the air. The aviator declared
his intention Of again trying to cross the
channel.
The appearance of the machine, with its
tangled guy ropes, and displaced skids, in
dicated that 1T was badly damaged. The
motor, however, is intact.
M. Latham said:
II cannot exactly say what stopped the
motor. I tried to get the engine working
again, but could not and was obliged to fly
gradually down TO the sea. / believe that
previous to the mishqp / maintained an
even flight 400 feet above the water. 1t
was unfortunate that the motor stopped, as
everything else was favorable and l was
going well at the time. Never mind, l will
nave another Antoinette monoplane from
Charlons, with which another attempt will
be made to cross the channel within a week
or ten days"
Latham left Calais for Paris this after
noon.