Evening star., 1921-05-31
Secretary Weeks Instructs
Inspector General to Review
Every Angle of Disaster.
REPORT WILL BE A BASIS
FOR ALL FURTHER ACTION
Lieut.. Ames, Pilot of Death Plane,
Exonerated of All Blame by
Army Officers Board

which four officers ana an enlisted
man in the Army and two civilians
lost THEIR lives. was ordered today by
Secretary Weeks.
Instructions transmitted by Mai.
! Gen. March. chief Of staff, directed
| that every angle of the disaster be
carefully reviewed. The report viii
| form the basis for any further action
which may be decided upon by the
War Department.
VIII he of Wider Scope.
This investigation Will be inde-
pendent of the action taken by the
air services board of inquiry. whlch
reported today to Maj. Gen. Menoher'
chief of the air service.
The inquiry by the inspector gen
eral presumably will be of wider
scope, however, and take cognizance
of a statement made by capt de
LeverGnc. air attache OF the Frencn
embassy. who rcd. in the wrecHeu
plane from Washington to Langley
Field. but who declined to return
in it.
THE machine was badly balanced
said Cant de I.evergnc. 1T had a
small motor of only 400 horsepower.
! The weight was too much. The pilot
could not control it ana l deGi'hsu ~.
to return in it and came back py
boat" 80
Lieut. Stanley NJ Ames. pilot of
the big Curtiss Eagle ambuia nee
plane. is exonerated OF all blame tor
the accident in the formal repo.. oi
tho Army officers. board of inHestiSa- :
ton. submitted this morning TO Nal.
N. +. ScanIon. commandant at Bolilne
Field
The accident the report stipulated
was absolutely unavoidable ana vas
due entirely to the storm into whlcn
the airDtane ran while returning
from Langley Field to Washington.
Based on Careful Study.
The board submitted its report to
Mai. ScanIon shortly before he and
his staff left the flying field TO at!ehu
the funeral Of Lieut.. Ames. Sapt.
william c. Ocker. who was causnt m
the storm himself while flying TO
Washington from Langley Field in an
SE-5 singIe-seat plane, was senior
officer OF the. board. The other mem
bers were Lieut.. Paul T: wilkins. Wno
was the first Army oInfer 10 70 iaS taSe
charge of the bodies, and Lieut.
LIE Roy Wolfe. a
on a careful study of the wreckage OF
the big ambulance plane ana tne ISL
mony Off persons in the Flclnl!y Oh
Norgantown who saw the accident.
The report says the Wreckage did NOT
show any evidence of structural Ial!-
ure. and the findings of the board. IL
is understood, do not attribute me e
crash to any faulty design OF the Dig
machine. The board also expressed
the opinion that Lieut.. Ames. the
njlot. had no opportunity to go around
or over the violent thunderstorm IN
which his plane was caught.
out of respect to the aviators VINO
were killed in the accident. none. Of
the Army planes at Boiling Field was
taken up today. The officers at the
station completed preparations for the
funeral Of Lieut.. Ames and for trans
ferring the personal effects OF Lieuts.
Cleveland w. McDermott and John NJ
Pennewill to their respective families.
Trunks. baggage and golf sticks be-
longing to these two officers arrived
at Boiling Field this morning from
Langley Field. at which station they
were to participate in the aerial bomb
ing operations next month.
Lieut.. Ames' Funeral Held.
The first of the funerals for the
seven men who lost their lives in the
accident. that Of Lieut.. Ames, was held
this afternoon at O'Clock at st. Johns
Episcopal Church. lp this church on
March IS. Lieut.. Ames was married to
Miss Josephine Boynton of this city.
who survives him.
Full military honOrs were accorded
the body. which was transported on a
caisson from Walter Reed Hospital to
the church and then to Arlington
cemetery, where il was buried. Rev.
T. S. Dunlap otficiated. The Isallbear-
ers we're comrades Of Lieut.. Ames
stationed at Boiling Field. They were
Capt. Vernon r. Scott and Lieuts.
Courtney Whitneya Talcott Smith.
lie Roy Wolfe, Clayton Shangraw and
Roo IN
Funeral services for Lieut. Archie
Miller will be held at the same church
tomorrow afternoon at 3 o'clock. Rev.
Roland c. Smith Will cfiiciate. Burial
will he in Arlington cemetery.
The funeral of Sergt Richard G.
BrumenkranZ mechanic of the ILL
fatcd plane, will be held at Arlington
tomorrow morning at II o'clock, and
not today as previously arranged Full
military honors will be accorded the
body.
Bntchelder Funeral Tomorrow.
Rites for A. c. Batchelder. one of
the civilians killed in the accident.
will be held at Gawler's undertaking
establishment tomorrow morning at
IL o'clock. Rev. U. G. cB. Pierce will
ofticiate. The body willthen be taken
to Buffalo and placed in a receiving
vault. Later it will he removed to
Mr.. BatchGlderS $ native nome IN At
tica. n. Y.
The body of former Representative
Maurice Connolly OF Iowa. the other
civilian in the accident. was sent last
night to Dubuque Iowa, where his
two sisters live. 1t was accompanied
by President Keyes of the Curtiss
Aeroplane Corporation. with which
Mr. Connolly was associated. A dele
CATION from the National Press Club.
Post No. 20, the American Legion, of
which Mr. Connolly was member.
went to the Union station last night
and placed a floral tribute on the
coffin The tribute consisted of cross
ed palm leaves and American Legion
poppies.
! Officers at Walter Reed Hospital to-
day made preparations to send the
bodies of Lieuts. McDermott and Pen
newill to their respective families to-
night Lieut.. McDermott'S body will
be forwarded to his father. in Syra-
cuse, n. V, and Lieut. Pennewilrs
body will be sent to his father at Sill
yer City. n. NJ.
Mai. T. c. Turner. in charge of
Marine Corps aviation. had narrow
escape in the same storm which caused
the wreck of the Eagle hospital ship
He was flying from Langley Field to
Boiling Field and ran into the out er
edge Of the storm when over Dalh-
gren. Va. He headed for the river
thinking to make the Marine landing
field al Ouantico Va