The Washington herald., 1922-02-22
THIRTY-FOUR DEAD
MEXPLOSION OF
DIRICBtE ROMA
Only Eleven Survive
Crash i'm Flames
At Norfolk.

Tire Roma's rudder jammed." he
said, when We were 1000 feet up.
We plunged downward until we
struck high-tension wires. where
The nose of the ship was set on FIRE.
Then We fell to the ground. Two
men jumped. and that's all knew
about it."
Failed to Clear Wires.
What caused the rudder to jam
is not yet definitely known. OBJ
servers at the army base saw the
great ship lurch, then right itself
and point its nose to the ground as
the pilot, walter J. Reed, appar-
emily sensed impending danger.
Then began a spectacular race
with death In which the foresight
and bravery OF the pilot were bested-
Every piece CT extra equipment was
hurled overheard in a desperate at
tempt to tighten ship. Sea bags,
personal belongings. and every
thing removable were thrown out
Finally. nearing the ground, Pilot
Reed turned the nose sharply down.
ward. But the high-tension wires
barred the way. 1t was impossible
to avoid them. and the Roma
As the highly charged wires
brushed the siIken sides of the
great ship, . ripple of flame crept
along its body; a wisp of smoke
was discernible. Then she struck
the ground.
Explosion Follows Crash.
As the Roma's nose buried itself
in the soil, a deafening explosion
-
enveloped in flames.
Ambulances. physicians and
nurses rushed to the scene from
every military and naval post. But
masses of fame kept back the res
cusrs Firemen from two stations
responded and attempted to extin-
guish the IRE.
Four bodies. torn loose from the
wreckage. were picked up near the
burninE-ship.
Carts. c. whitehurst, u. S. En-
Eineers-a witness of the disaster
whe<zs one Of the first to reach
thsIscene. aided in recovering hve
bodies.
Brave Fight for Life.
The men fought frantically to
keep the ship in the air." said
whitehurst Il could see their
began to rock. First ballast went
overheard. Then everything NOV
able went out 1t was q brave night
foAsife, but the rudder still refused
TO function. Men began to take 70
parachutes. Two jumped. Just
then the ships nose touched the
wires. A Kissing sound told Of
buEning gas, and the great ship
fell in flames, exploding as II
todched the ground. A deafenins
roar came simultaneously with the
Sheet Of name that enveloped the
baLEo more could be seen Of the
wrsekage.
"A man came running toward me
out OF the smoke screen
His clothing was afame- / hurled
him into a nearby ditch nned with
water, then rushed to the flaming
mass to aid in the rescue"
G. 2. McCutcheon, . sailor on
the U. s. S. Marine. saw the ex-
plosion and was among the first TO
aid in the work of rescue.
The Roma was on a speed trial
when the accident occurred. The
crash occurred two hours after the
fight began.
Believe Propeller Broke.
One theory advanced by Officers
al the base was that the Liberty
motors. installed in the place of the
Italian engines originally driving
the Roma, developed such an in
,reased power that the strain broke
the propeller, which in turn caused
jamming Of the elevator control
The belief gained ground tonight
that the explosion originated in the
gasoline tanks. which caught FIRE
when the aircraft turned over and
then ignited the hydrogen gas.
OF the injured. Charles W.
Dvorack, Of Dayton. Ohio, is held
to have slight chance OF recovery.
several others are badly injured.
The body of Lieut.. William z.
Eeilly was one Of the few OF the
tEirty-four victims which was rec
osnisable.
Every passenger was equipped
with a parachute but the accident
happened so close to the ground
that their use was impossible.
The cabins of the Roma extend
ed along the keel almost the entire
length. When the cabin struck the
ground. the envelope collapsed or
each side OF il. pinning the occu-
pants in the wreckage underneath.
sparks from the broken power line
1gnited the gasoline and hydrogen
with which the bags were filled.
As far as is known, there was
not . considerable amount OF hei-
Ium at Langley Field. certainly not
enough to have filled the Roma.
Had Accident In November.
Maj. John J. Thornell and Capt.
Dale Mabry. both Of whom persisted,
and Capt. Walter J. Reed, who sur
viyed. were detailed by the army to
go to Italy. to study the ship and
supervise the packing after the gov
eminent decided to purchase the
craft in 1920. when the ship reached
Langley Field they supervised the
erection and took her on her first
American trip in November. 1921.
On that cruise the vessel expert
enced her first accident. One of the
propellers threw OF a splinter which
cut the outer envelope and pune
tured one of the hydrogen gas COM
partments. Only the presence or
mind of several OF the mechanics
saved the ship from destruction at
that time.
Sergt. Lee NJ. Harris. realizing
the danger of the hydrogen becom-
ing iEnited by the sparks and e1-
haust from his engine. immediately
shut his motor on and with Sergts.
William Fitch and c. E Brannigan
relieved the pressure Of that COM
partment and finally repaired the
punctures. All three men became
unconscious from the gas during
the undertaking. With only her