Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1920-08-03
AVIATOR AND AIDE ]
KILLED BY FAIL
Stunt" Airmen's Plane Ignitsd
by Rocket They Were
Following
RIcKENBAckER IN CRASH
BY the Associated Press

Los Angeles, Calf, Aug. 3.--An 1,
vestigation was started today by ~
'oroner's Office Of the deaths Of ;a me
tenant Omer Locklear. and Lieutonss.
Milton Elliott, aviators, whose airnlanas
ast night crashed to the ground nSss
Hollywood without having righted fross fess
, tail spin started at height of ion ion
Locklear, known as daredevil av;,
tor, was performing by scarchligbt !,
IN exhibition when the fatal accidens
occurred Five searchlights played on
the airplane as 1t started into the s,ia Ta
and Lieutenant Locklear,; the n;lns S;pu
frropped a rocket. which he follow"i
with the nose of his machine.
Spectators said Locklear attemn,.s
20 right his machine at height of oOS
..eet, but failed as the machine bnr.,
into flames. The plane was igniteJ H.
he rocket. 1t was said. '"
Both aviators were dead when ma
ton picture employees reached them
few seconds after they struck the ground
The bodies were burned and mnneled
Lieutenant Locklear was born /,
Como, Tex, twenty seven years oso
AZ the beginning Of the late war no v' sn'
listed in the United States air serv;co
and was assigned to Barron Field. a.
Overman, Tex. as commander of Squad
ron Il and instructor in acrobatics
After he was mustered out of the seryic,
he toured the country with Lieutenant,
Elliott and Short, giving exhibition
OF stunt flying. Lieutenant Elliott
was native of Gadoden, Ala.
Locklear was the first aviator IA
transfer from one plane to another n
midair. His method of performins
this feat was described when he @ gavs
an exhibition at Atlantic City, on NAV
20, 1919, by Frank Goodwin. OF MI,
city, who was in the service with Loci
lear. Mr.. Goodwin said:
"Locklear would make his chanys
from one airplane to the other whiIs
nearly two miles in the air and when
the planes were travelling ninety miles
an hour.
His method was to get out of hi,
seat in the plane he was riding in ana
| which was being driven by somebodv
! else, Of course, and get on the under.
carriage. Then he would hang by his
knees from the distance board wbiis
the other plane crept up beneath him.
Both machines were going about NINETY
miles an hour.
when he could touch with his hand,
the center section of the top plane Of
the lower ship he would let 20 with hi,
legs and flop down on the top of the
section. The ships then would pull awav
and he would climb down into the shin
from the upper wing.
1.-The only danger was that the planes
might hit bump or a sudden gust
or current of wind. The things that
bothered Locklear most was the wind
produced by the propeller. Otherwise Il
was as though he were dropping from
one fixed platform to another, as the
planes Travelled at the same rate Of
speed."
Omaha, Neb., Aug. 3.-Plane No.
B Of the mail trail blazing squadron on
it's way from New York to San Fran.
cisco, crashed into house while en-.
deavoring to make a getaway from
Aksarben field here today and fell to
the ground. Aside from a shaking up
occupants of the plane escaped injury.
The plane was wrecked.
The monoplane was piloted by Can.
tain II. Il. Hartney and carried eddie
Rickenbacker. Ernest Buehl and 7. ].
O'Brien, of Omaha. as passengers.
I Toxic, Aug. 3.-Frank Kilby, pilot
and A. Sunman, his mechanic, both
British subjects, were killed yesterday
in the fall Of an airplane. which crushed
to death three japanese spectators. The
accident occurred during flying exhi.
bition arranged by the Imperial Avia.
tion Society. Fifty thousand people
were present. =.