The New York herald., 1922-02-24

w. Dvorak, superintendent of airship
construction at McCook Field, Dayton,
Ohio. who was injured in the crash.
stated to-day the failure OF the controls
was an aerodynamic theory and was
not necessarily the cause of the trouble.
Major John d. Reardon, another OF the
injured. on the other hand. said "the
wreck of the Roma was undoubtedly
due to failure of controls"
Asked If he had heard that the Roma
was unsafe after the trial test to Wash-
ington, as stated in a letter said to have
been written TO his father in Chicago by
Lieut.. Clifford f. smythe. Dvorack would
not commit himself.
Charges were made in the ship after
that trip" he said New motors were
installed and the fuel system was
changed"
Some of the bodies which were taken
to the morgue in Newport News on the
evening of the disaster have been sent TO
their homes, but the funeral services In
that city tomorrow will be in honor OF
all who died in the wreck. The services
will be held at Casino Park at O'Clock.
Asked If there We're any changes In
the construction of the semi-dirigible or
in the control system, Mr.. Dvorack re-
piled that any faults that were COM
planned of were corrected. Dvorack was
the most severely burned of any os the
survivors of the disaster, and Is not yet
out OF danger. His statement to-day was
the first he has made since the horror.
Tells of DIsanter.
when I saw the ship dive forward
said Dvorack. II cut off the rear right
motor. The dive was at an angle of
about 30 degrees, and when she kept
in that dive so long after making 1t
- suddenly / knew there was no
chance to come out of it. Hurley. who
vaY at the other motor, did as 1 did.
Then there was nothing to do /but wait
for the crash.
II grabbed a piece of the ironwork
and held onto it. When the nose struck
the ground l was still holding on. I
was soon covered with gas. ! was
between the fabric and the gas tank
and said God help US If she gets on
fire. I hardly had spoken the words
when / saw the whole ship in flames.
was caught before I could get away.
l jumped and fell in a ditch and felt
myself becoming unconscious. I knew
it was a matter of life and death and
kept moving. When / came out of
the ditch I saw some of the boys on
the left and right. My eyes were so
badly burned and so full of mud that
could not recognize any of them.
II kept crawling and fell into another
ditch. The flames had reached me
again and ! thought ] was gone when
somebody caught me-
The wreck of the Roma undoubtedly
was due to failure of controls" said
Major Reardon. Il was standing next
to Lieut.. Burt, who was operating the
elevator. and when we noticed the
ships nose down, he tried to elevate it.
He turned the wheel twice but the
elevator would not respond He re-
ported to Capt. Mabry. Everything
the ship could not be put on an even
keel again, and we had to wait for
the inevitable"
Statement was made to-day by Lieut.
Col. A. S. Fisher, chief of the Lighter
Than-Air Service at Langley Field,
home station of the Inflated Roma,
that there was nothing wrong with
the craft when she left here Tuesday
on what proved to be her last flight"
The statement of Col. Fisher referred
to assertions made in Chicago last night
by DR.. j. NJ. Nicholson. quoting from
letter written by Lieut.. Clifford L.
Smythe, victim of the disaster, after
the Romas trip to Washington last De-
cember. In this connection Lieut..
Fisher said:
Knowing Lieut.. Smythe as I did I
cannot believe he has been correctly
quoted in Chicago relative to his letter
to his father in which he is said TO
have declared the Roma unsafe.