The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-05-19
ANXIETY IS FELT
FOR SAFETY OF
LOST AVIATORS
Admiral Jackson, in Charge
of DestrOyers, Reports
Gales Off Azores.
VISIBILITY is VERY Low
Swarm Of Warships Engaged
in Wide Search; the NC-1
Is Out Of Race.
VISIBILITY IS VERY Low
Special DespatcA to The suS.

WASHINGTON, May 1S.-A day of
n1xious waiting. broken only by few
short dispatches from the Azores, left
the Navy Department late tonight
still without definite information as
to the fate Of the NC-3, flagship of
the division of flying boats which
started from Newfoundland on the
first aerial transatlantic voyage.
More than forty hours mad elapsed
since the last message had been re-
ceived from Commander John H.
Towers, then off his course and lost
in the fog 800 miles west of Fayal.
Despite the fact that every available
destroyer and the battleships Texas
and Florida are securing the sea
over q wide radius from the last
known position of the missing plane
no word came to cheer the anxious
officers and officials at Washington
Despite the streak of bad luck
which downed two of the three sea-
planes almost Mt the moment OF vic
tory, there is no talk of abandonment
Of the transatlantic flight. 1t ap-
pears that the NC-1 is definitely out
Of the race-Lieut Commander Bel
linger never would have left her 9TH
erwise-while the fate and condition
OF the NC-3 now adrlft many hours in
rough sea, IS uncertain. But not n
navy officer could be found in Wash
lngton tonight who did not confident
| ly predict that as soon as weather
permltted-and tomorrow was men,
toned as the probable date-the NC-4
will go on alone, first, possibly to
Ponta Delgada and later to Lisbon,
Portugal.
Confident of Completion.
OF the three Seaplanes which rose
with naval precision one minute apart
at Rockaway Beach, 1t may be that
the NC-4, which experienced trouble
before she had flown 200 miles of the
3925 nautical miles and was com
PEELED TO land with three of her en-
, glnes out of the running. will be the
| only seaplane to finish the flight. But
it will be finished. the navy is sure
of that.
Nor do the officers here despair of
the NC-3 or her crew. Tales of sea-
planes adrift off the coast OF France
| and of our own coast for days at n
time in heavy seas are told. One
plane, for instance. weathered a storm
of eleven days with sail improvised
with one OF her wings. FraIl as the
hull of the NC-3 Is in compa rson with
her weight, 1t is strongly built hull
"A navy hull, they say, and the ship
is stanch and the crew Is the pick of
the navy flying service
Early reports from Rear Admiral
Jackson, comma nding the destroyer
force which patrolled the course of the
flight and is now searching for the
missing craft. were encouraging In
that they minimized the damage to the
| NC-1, which had been abandoned by
her crew 100 miles west OF the island
of Flores and subsequently picked uI
by the destroyers Harding and Fair
fax. The damage, however, proved
more serious than at first reported and
/ later dispatches indicating that the
| conditions OF wind and sea made 1t i'm
possible TO tow the plane into port
Fserved TO create further anxiety
Lloyd's in London, in fact, received a
bulletin that the NC-l plane had sunk
l20 miles off Flores.
The NC-i, in spite of a missing
pontoon and broken wing, had the ad-
vantage of being llghtened by the re-
moval OF her crew, and as the day
went on without word from the NC-G
II became evident that only good luck
could save Commander Towers's plane
with Its extra weight of five men.
NC-I Badly Wrecked.
! The situation was summed up to.
night In message from the L. S. $
! Columbia at Horta which reads:
mel right wing badly broken
| pontoon carried away. elevators brok-
! en-, fabric left wing ribs badly dam
aged. Condition of sea too rough &c
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