The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-01-31
TRIVIAL ACCIDENT IS | CAUSE 0F THE FAILURE
Curdy's oil and He Is Compelled to stop Before Reaching
 City of Havana

compelled to drop into the sea. There
 smained, his biplane fioated by pom
 until the lifeboat u a torpedo boat
 yer picked him up.
 h victory within his grasp his goal plain view. an accident, trivial in it. self for which no provision was possible, | robbed McCurdy of his almost won title of conqueror of the Florida straits. With Morro Castle scarce dozen of miles away his aeroplane rushing at the rate of 50 miles an hour, at an altitude of 1000 feet, a break in a small part of the engine, ruptured crank case, permitting the escape of all the lubricating oil. necessi- tated McCurdys immediate descent. Vessels See McCurdy Fall Havana was then in plain view and Camp Columbia. where the landing was to be made, was only a short distance | beyond
 At the time of the descent the aero- | plane was about equidlstant from the | Paulding and Terry, the leading ships. which were about ten miles apart. The intrepid aviator. when the sound of the engine told him something was wrong, instantly shut off the power. He de- seended rapidly, swinging steadily to the | water and alighting as gracefully as a
 gull with outspread wings. The pom l toons proved ahundantly buoyant, l McCurdy not even getting his feet wet l The fall was seen by all the vessels | of the squadron and they headed in the l direction of the aeroplane at topmost | speed. the Paulding and the Terry arriv- ing almost simultaneously. Some diff oulty was experienced in maneuvering | the destroyers alongside the aircraft, but ha pia ly n contentment, assured the officers that | he perfectly safe and that there was no necessity for haste. The Terry's life boat took him off and finally he was taken aboard the Paulding, but the efforts to hoist the machine on the launching pla tform failed.
 Graphing irons were used and the aero- plane was hauled to the deck in badly damaged condition.
 While this work was going on the Cu- ban flagship Hatuey arrived from Iia- vana, carrying President Gomez and party of friends. She ran alongside the Paulding. and the president shouted his congratulations on the pluck of the avia- tor and regret for his i'll fortune After an hours delay the squadron started for Havana, entering the harbor few min utes after 1 o'clock amid the cheers of many thousands who continued to throng the sea wall long after the news of the accident was known. McCurdy, landing from the Paulding, proceeded without change of clothing to the drill grounds at Camp Columbia, where he gave mag nificent exhibition of his skill, rising to an altitude of 1200 feet and performing variety of maneuvers that were startling to the Cubans.
 The start from Key West was made at 7:S2 o'clock, central time, which was S:05 Havana time, and after making two cir ctes, the aviator squared away on his course. Conditions were ideal, faint wind, a cloudless azure sky and unrippled sapphire seas. Describes Flight In speaking of the beauty of the scene. AIcCurdy declared this evening that he had never before experienced so wonder full a sensation as when he rose thou sand feet and started on the trip. Con tinuing, he said:
 "Ahead of me was wonderous mirage, the sea, instead of horizontal plane be- low, having the appearance of huge vertical picture, on which the funnel tops of the destroyers appeared like black spots. Soon I became accustomed to this and the exhilaration was glorious as rushed at 50 miles an hour toward It's wonderful panorama. It seemed no time before Moro and Havana were In plain view and I could almost see the waiting crowds. Then something went wrong with the engine. I saw all my oil run ming out and there was nothing to do but tc descend. This I accomplished with ease.
 .sThe accident only increased my earnest desire to effect the conquest of the Flor ida straits and have the fullest confi- dence that I can do 1t. I do not know when shall be able to make another at tempt at the flight, but under such condi- tions as prevailed today I am sure of success
 McCurdy was exactly two hours in the air, covering estimated distance of about 96 miles. Besides the over-sea rec ord this is the first instance of an aero plane flight entirely out of sight of land.
 Intense Excitement
 Disappointment was keen in Havana over the aviators mishap. On the firing of three cannons at Cabanas, signalling the start all business was suspended. The whole population thronged the Male- con driveway from Punta to San Lazaro All the high roofs and the heights or Morro and Cabanas were crowded. At 10 o'clock it became known that McCurdy was drawing near, but still he could not be seen The excitement was in- tense. Then came long. ominous delay. A rumor started that McCurdy had been Filled, but nothing was known in Havana until receipt of the Associated Press dia- patches giving an account of the acci- dent. M
 At S:34 Key West wired that McCurdy had just passed over the wireless sta- ton and Aas headed out to sea. Cap tain woodward Lieutenant Newton and Ensign Faber of the Roe sighted the aviator at 9:02, coming up rapidly at an altitude of 800 feet Less than 10 min utes afterwards he passed directly over the ship and Captain Woodward called for full speed ahead. At the same time