The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1918-09-17
THOUSANDS SEE 2
U. filters KILLED
Watching Throngs Horror
Struck as Army Plane Falls
in Brooklyn Yard.
IMPALED ON POLE THERE
Engine Goes Dead Only 400
Feet Up-SchOol Children
See Tragedy.

Two Young army aviators were killed
, In Brooklyn yesterday when the engine
| OF their machine went dead and the
plane fell like stone into the back yard
Of the residence OF Henry D. Lott. sol
Ocean avenue. in the Fiatbush district.
Lieut.. Charles L. Kinney, Jr.. OF Cow
lngton. KY, attached to the First Pro-
visional Aero Wing. Field 2. Garden City.
and Second Lieut. F. II. Austin OF Bos-
ton. S52d Squadron. Company b, Field
!. Mineola. were the flying men dashed
to death They fell scarcely more than
400 feet and had no space In which to
vancouver their powerless plane.
L'euts. Kinney and Austin appeared
over Brooklyn at about $3.50 A. NJ. and
Immediately attracted attention from
thousands Of people in the streets be-
cause of their evident skill at handling
the airplane and OF their nerve. Flying
very low, always dangerous risk they
thrilled onlookers by finging their ma
chine into spins and twists and dives and
|
people enjoying the free snow
Engines Roar Ii spasmo dic.
At about A. NJ. the engine became
balky. as was quite evident to spectators
and listeners below. Its broken explo-
| sions indicated II was missing" badly.
and the pilots could be seen working over
the troublesome machinery. After few
minutes they came to earth at the parade
| ground in Prospect Park and Lieut..
Kinney told a policeman that all morn
| ing the engine had not been behaving
properly.
After tinlsering with the engine for
half an hour they went up again. but
again had to come down. this time SO
precpitately that people gazing upward
from the parade grodnd turned and ran
In sudden panic. desperately afraid that
the big. white thing swooping downward
was going to crush them. Working here
at Parade place and Parkside avenue for
/ a quarter OF an hour they decided ap-
parently that they could take another
chance with the tricky engine and up
they went again.
Hundreds OF students of Erasmus High
School were looking on from the roof
and windows on the building. and the
Lieutenants waved at the boys. The en-
CINE was roaring Internationally. Lieuts.
Kinney and Austin evidently decided to
land third time. for they swung the
nose OF their craft toward the parade
grounds Just as Lieut.. Austin waved
gayly TO girl In the street near the
high school. The machine was so low by
this time that 1t seemed scarcely above
the housetops. and spectators BEGAN to
get alarmed, hardly knowing why bur
sensing the peril of the niers
Lieut.. Kinney. who was driving. real
lied obviously that 1t would be impossi-
bic to reach the parade ground in the
park the machine not having enough al
titude to accomplish the long. slanting
volplane which would be necessary, so
he picked out an open space behind the
residence of Henry d. Lott at SCI Ocean
avenue and within two blocks OF the
Erasmus High School Had not the en-
CINE gone absolutely dead II is possible
that Lieut.. Kinney would have accom-
plished a safe descent. but the sudden
loss OF power. with no elbow room to
nurse the helpless machine. was fatal.
The machine fell suddenly. heavily.
era shing down into the yard back of the
Lott house and impaling itself upon a
clothesline pole. The fusilage was thrust
through by this pole and the wings were
smashed backward and driven parallel to
the fusllage.
ThOusands See Accident.
Thousands witnessed the accident, and
there were screams OF horror from the
boys and girls watching from Erasmus
, High School One OF the first persons to
, reach the back yard was Michael j
Nolan. n fireman attached to Engine
/ Company 279 Nolan was on his way to
work. Running to the mass OF crumpled
wreckage. he eXt-icated Lieut.. Austin's
body. noted that the young officer was
quite dead. and then tried to free Lieut.
Kinney's body. This was not possible
l until the stay wires OF the machine had
been cut. 80 completely was Lieut.. Kin
ney imprisoned in the wreckage. His
death. like Lieut. Austin's. was probably
instantaneous. DR.. Vincent r. Gala
CHER, who was in the neighborhood ant
!: who arrived within Ave minutes. sent the
bodies to the Kings County Hospital tc
{ await action by the military authorities
Military officials detailed to investigat,
= the accident said that Lieuts Kinney ant
Austin were not flying on official bus
hess, but had gone out to take a ride
, Investigation showed there was plenty o
: gasolene in the tank. but that the oil
showed seventy points" indicating tina
Il may have clogged the bearings OF tn,
, engine. IT was assumed that the avia
|. tors miscalculated the distance wher
! they started hurrledly to descend. a mis-
. calculation which caused the machine e
dash into the clothes pole. A clock at
tached to the air2lane had stopped a
70 80 A. NJ. The plane was of the Cur
tiss J. N. II. type.
' Lieut. Austin was married His wifi
has been living at Westbury. near tn,
4 aviation field. He was an aero naviga
ton officer and until recently was sta
toned at Dallas, Tex. Lieut.. Kline!
was n bachelor and had done most of hi
p, flying at Mitchell Field, near Mineola. Re
= | Gently he was made a member OF thu
=, Hazlehurst Platoon. Both were consid
a | cred excellent pilots.
Cadet Aviator Killed in Canada.
81 Clam RAruRI,N DEaRRnN,rn ONT