The Lehi sun. [volume] (Lehi, Utah) 1913-1949, 1922-03-02
A!RSHIP DISASTER
AROUSES OFFICIALS
AlRsHlP ROMA is WRECKED ~
FLIGHT BEING MADE 10 re- :"
NEW LIBERTY MOTORS
langley Field officer says Cause o,
wreck In Which Thlrty.four Men
Lost Lives Will Always
Remain a Mystery

Norfolk, Va.-Army air servico -.
perts wednesday put under wov tholr
investigation TO determine the couso %
the disaster to the American aIrshir
homn, In which thlrty.four were t,llod
and eleven injured.
Stark and flame scared tba tu5.,o,
steel skeleton that had been the oueon
OF American skies, lay near tba Nor
tolk mud fats Wednesday, its charred
remains concealiug many of the serrets
the mir service experts win seek to
probe. OWN "
Practically every one OF the thirty.
Iour victims was burned TO denth. o,.
ncers and physicians said. Most n,
the bodies were identified by trinke,s
Major General Patrick, chief Of the
army air service. Washington, was on
the ground with an army court Of IN.
curry to determine the blame While
the court will require several dovs %
complete Its investigation, the indIco.
ton was that the crew would he exon.
Grated and the cause Of the crash 70
ported as unknown"
The consensus of opinion is that
captain ID. L. Mabry, commander OF
the Roma, In making the turn over the
army base failed to allow for the in.
creased power. The rudder broke nm.
der the unusual strain. junmlng into
the controls. This occurred nj height
estimated at $50 feet The Roma /.
nose pointed down and Lieutenant
Burt, at the elevation level. tugged des
perately to straighten the shin. She
refused to respond and he yelled nj
captain Mabry to shut of the motors
They were shut Off one by one.
In the meantime. the helpless giant
sagged rapidly, nose pointing down nj
an angle Of 40 degrees. Two score
Feet from the ground the nose passed
over a half-dozen high tension wires.
tearing them TO fragments. A second
later the dirlglble thrust her nose into
a mass Of steel bIllets, machine parts
and scrap iron and collapsed on rs
living freight. A few seconds more
and the fire imlted by the twisting
serpents OF flame from the cj00-vol,
electric wires, swept the wreckage.
A great sheet OF flame shot from the
huge gas lag, leapIng high into the u.r
and driving away the scores OF SOL
diers and civilians who rushed TO the
rescue. Unable to approach the pyrc
the rescuers turned in a fire alarm and
then picked up Lieutenant Reilly, who
had jumped from the machine Just be.
fore she struck the wires. He had
failed TO open his parachute and
.reashed into mass OF metal. He died
on the way to the hospital
When the fire was extlngulshed. n
dozen charred bodies were found
tangled In the skeleton.
The rest of the bodies were held fast
under the ship and a derrick was used
81 life the giant frame before these
could DE released.
Few of the survivors could recall
the incidents leading mp TO the collapse.
Lieutenant Welsh and Major Rear-
don were in the forward cabin when
the collapse came. They were stunned
for few seconds and while stu in n
daze began cutting away Mt the fabric.
After cutting n large hole they found
themselves directly over deep depres-
sion in the ground and this enabled
them TO crawl TO safety.