The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1916-05-11

good swimmer. The boat of the ma
chine was near Ivy and / manaeed to
reach Il and cling on. l asked McCau-
Icy. who WAS holding on. to help me.
t as S , SSspT Where ,e !, TTank
~ I was lifted aboard the tug
a number OF persons Witnessed tho
accident from she river side. A woman
who saw. the machine fall stated that
thing fall from the machine. II then
plunged downward. striking tho river
with great force.
The machine fell lust at the mouth Of
Little Hunting creek. opposite tho
United States Government.
The tug John Miller lpnded tho in
{ured on tho Virginia shore opposite
lire. They were taken b.. o car TO s'1 Alex
When news of the accident spread, a
plumber of small power boats and
srsSed % the out s 70 the @en scs as a ana
government tug bound down river from
Washington. Their efforts were un-
The wrecked aeroplane was towed to
EOtN "obHinbtOns OH Int mHTylVnu
shore, by the Government boat. The
tug John Miller did not give up search
Tor the missing men until n horde OF
smaller vessels was on the scene.
McCauley- and Utter are so badly
hercntly. It was through Dudley's in
sistence that II became known that there
were I'VE men aboard the aero instead
McCauiey and Utter were looking for
~ n ma "a -AA ssRNl
the passenger list was checked that
there had been ive persons aboard in
stead of four.
z Urged Aerial Patrol.
Dudley had been Gathering the idea
OF an aerial patrol in connection with
the Coast Guard Service. and It was be-
cause of his interest in the demonstra-
ton of the Newport News-to- w ashing-
ton and-return fight as a demonstra-
ton that he made the trip.
There were Few persons at the Navy
Yard when the machine left Washing
ton this morning: 1t was believed that
trip. The aeroplane had been carefully
inspe cted and tested. IL Is believed that
had 1t been flying higher II might have
been possible to have landed on the
water with less force and without fatal
Injury.
Dudley is suffering from the shock OF
the death and INJURY to his companions.
Their fate Is uppermost In his mind.
and he is still insisting that they search
for two instead Of one missing man.
Dudley left home early this morn.
ing to make the flight He approached
1t. he said. with the utmost conf
dencc, and II is to this that he feels
he owes his life Because OF his con-
dillon he could talk Of the accident
only in broken sentences.
Had No Warning.
Pilot McCauley and passengers In
the machine had no premonition Of
In an instant. The machine was fly
ing smoothly, when. with the noise
as OF an explosion the propeller went
off.
Pilot McCarley dipped the plane
downward. but he did not have suf-
ncient space to make a successful
glide. 1t struck the water before he
could bring ii horizontal to catch a
glide on the surface that would break
the shock that smashed the machine
and dashed out its occupants with
great force.
In telling Of the accident. Dudley said:
Il was not shocked by the realization
that we were going to fall. II seemed
that the others were. and / felt sorry.
! only thought how It would feel to die.
l said: guess 1t has come. l was
sorry Immediately because Of the man.
ner In which the others took II. No
other word was said. There was not
time. We plunged downward at an aw-
full rate.
Il was fortunate It seems. had con-
fdence and never thought that an ac-
cident would come. 1t seemed to me
that all the others. being experienced
men. had the dread constantly with
hts,ar A~N-
seemed to show on them when it hap
pened and spoke They had the shock
OF a realization Of the dread that was
with them. / escaped this.
1t was AL over in an instant, I
came to me the realization that 1 was
not good swimmer. The boat of the
aeroplane was nearly. reached II and
hung on. / saw McCauley. ! could not
hand lie said: Wher % is 20 F sixe me oht
where is FrankT Utter was hanging
on. said there are two others. No
one of us was able to give assistance
though we tried.
We were hauled aboard and / asked
them to get two others. said to Nc
Cauley. am so sorry for you and
q gain ! regretted II. II seemed to hurt
him. He was badly done up. So was
Utter. / felt strong then. Their condi-
tion and the fate of the others preys
upon me-"
Dudley is one Of the oldest and best
known newspaper men in Washington.
He was on the staff Of the Washington
Times M its earliest days. and has a
wide acquaintance among men in the
profession and in public life He was
for number of years a reporter in
Norfolk. but returned to this city to
accept employment on an afternoon
paper. He is married and has a daugh-
ter In her teens. Mrs. Dudley did not
know of the accident until her hus-
band was brought home in a serious