Indiana daily times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1914-1922, 1922-02-22

one VI Inc flCttunS ptI4SuCu. L hS SACSA'-
ton was Lieut. William E. Riley of New
York. He 1eaped from the bag with
parachute just before the crash. The
parachute failed to open and Riley
crashed head first into the concrete road
way. His head was mashed and his
neck broken.
ARCNTEERs DIG
49, BODIES.
Soldiers, using a railroad crane which
was backed near the scene, lifted the
wreckage while volunteers dug out the
bodies from the charred Wreckage.
Grewsone sights met these rescuers. Some
victims had their hands burned off,
though the chief force Of the explosions
seemed to have struck their heads. No
features were recognizable. Military men
on the scene are of the opinion that the
airmen had been literally roasted alive
in the first great explosion that followed
the crash. Only two Of the eight in
jured now held at the Army Hospital
here are in danger Of dying from their
burns. These are Charles D. Dworack Of
Dayton Ohio, and Sergt. Harry A Chap
man Of st. Joseph, Mo. The others,
physicians said. will recover while both
Dworack and Chapman have a lighting
chancev
There is some conflict among some OBJ
servers as to whether there was fire
aboard the airship before the crash. All
army men deny it and they are borne
out by most of the survivors.
CAPTAIN REED
HEARS CRY OF FIRE.
Capt. Walter J. Reed of Scarsdale, N.
Y, one of the survivors, however, de-
clared there was a cry Of fire just before
the crash.
II felt ILL.," Reed said from his hospital
cot. land went forward to lie down. In
a little while. I heard a cry of fire aft
and ran back through the runway. 1 saw
the men milling around in the center
xASahJn. They were panic stricken. I saw
flames, however. I got to one side
49, Just as the bag struck I leaped.
~ don't know how I escaped-it seemed
a miracle"
Mai. John D. Reardon Of Dayton, an
other survivor, denied that there was
any fire prior to the crash. He declared
he was trapped inside the aft cabin and
waited until the flames burned a hole in
the canvas sides before he crawIed
through to freedom.
Zone of the contributing causes for so
many deaths was the lack Of knives"
Reardon said. eve couldn't find any
knives to cut out way out Of the bag.
Some of the other boys just waited there
to die"
PLACE STRESS ON
FAILURE OF MOTOR.
Army officials today were placing much
stress on the statements of several sur
vivors that one Of the big Liberty motors
event dead" shortly after the start Of
the flight This motor, situated in the
front Of the vessel, it was stated, con
tributed to the head pull which forced
the nose Of the Roma downward to such
an extent that the controls broke This
phase was being closely investigated
MAY STOP DEALS FOR
FOREIGN TYPES.
The twin diasters to the great dir
rigibles both Of foreign design and man
ufacture, caused air service officers to
seriously question today the advisa bility
of further dealing with foreign types OF
these ships. The Roma was Of Italian
construction and the ZR-2 Of British.
Both had been purchased by this Govern
ment
In The Navy is particularly interested be-
&&MMse it is now negotiating for a Ger
Zeppelin ofAthe most advanced. type
~to be built in Germany under American
supervision. Work has not actually be-
gun on the big ship because of a hitch
in the financial arrangements.
One result Of the Norfolk disaster, air
service experts asserted, would be to
advance the use Of helium gas, sup
pOsedly non-infammable. The Roma, so
far as is now known, was filed with
ordinary hydrogen gas, and officers said
If helium had been used the disaster IN
doubtedly would not have reached the
proportions it did The first explosion
which followed the crash of the big ship.
was presumably caused by the ships
coming in contact with the high tension
electric wires. The use of helium gas,
4 ,4oa %F.n
explosion, and, if not preventing the fire,
at least would have lessened its magni-
tude and terror.
The Roma catastrophe thew an at
mosphere of gloom about bcth War and
Navy Departments. Thirty odd victims
of the crash were well known in Wash
ington, having made frequent trips to
the Capital from the Army base at
Langley Field.
DISTRESS AT
HEIGHT OF 1900 FEET.
Capt. s. c. Whitehurst, Army engineer,
an eye witness, said the ship appeared
to be in distress at a height Of 1000 feet.
He could easily see the tiny figures Of
the crew and passengers scurrying
frantically back and forth, throwing bal
last, storage batteries and other movable
articles over the side in an effort to
tighten the ship.
n "They put up q great fight to keep
.AaSoat," Captain Whitehurst said. 1.-THE
&E4na came down nose first, sliding along
80 electric wires. Streaks Of fire ran
\ along her nose Then came the collapse
and the gas rushed up IN a mighty
fame"
Stories Of the crash conflict, but
general opinion is that the gas bag ex-
pIoded as the ship struck the ground.
More than half Of the officers and men
killed are survived by wives and children.
The families Of the officers live at the
field and here and there along the neat
rows Of homes flowing black crepe stirs
gently in the breeze. Window blinds
are pulled low.
Two minutes after the Roma went to
destruction word Of the disaster was re-
ceived at the Navy post. In a few
seconds bareheaded women were running
to the adjutant's office Unable to obtain
word of the probable fate Of their hug
bands, many Of them sped to the ferry
and over to the scene of the wreck. The
sentries, forcing the great crowds back
with rough commands, held the women
gently while officers and friends re-
strained them from pushing through to
the wreck. One woman became hysterical
and fought and screamed to break
through the line. She finally tainted and
was carried to the hospital.
Officers, hardened to death in every
form, quailed before the task Of tele-
phoning the news Of Lieutenant Riley's