The New York herald., 1922-03-25
FIVE ARE DROWNED
in LOST SEAPLANE
Oil Tanker Picks Up Sole Sur
vivor of Miss Miami,
Moore, Pilot.
HE is TOO WEAK TO TALK
Radio Message Indicates That
All Passengers on Bimini
Flight Are Lost.

Special Dispatch to THE NEW yonk HERALD.
MIAMI, March 24-Radio operators
here intercepted a wireless message
tonight from the steamship William
Green saying she had picked up
Robert Moore, pilot Of the seaplane
Miss Miami. which left Miami last
Wednesday on a fight to Bi7nini and
that the five passengers who started
with Moore had been drowned.
The message, which gave none of
the details of the rescue or the adj
ventures of TIE plane in the high seas
and storms which have been raging
since the machine left. is as follows:
Lat. 27-37 north. long. 1888 west.
Steamship William Green rescued
a lone survivor named Robert
Moore, who was pilot on seaplane
painted pea green.
The message was signed by Capt
w. A. Wachsmuch. master of the
steamship. Later messages are ex-
pected in which it is hoped that Capt.
Wachsmuch will radio some of the de-
tails of Moore's story and more definite
information regarding the fate of the
passengers.
Second Message Received.
At midnight another message was
received from the William Green, say
ing:
Pilot Moore has not fully re-
covered from his experience. He is
gaining strength slowly and will be
able to give details tomorrow.
This indicates that Moore probably
was unconscious or so weakened by
his experience that he has not been
able to even tell the ships captain any
of the details of the disaster. He was
picked up about twenty miles north
east of Jupiter.
Tie naval wireless station here also
received the information from the
tanker that the seaplane was upside
down when sighted: that Moore, vir-
tually exhausted. was clinging to the
wreck. and that the five passengers
undoubtedly had persisted
The naval wireless station Is keeping
in communication with the William
Greene in the hope that Moore may be
able to give some details Of the acci-
dent and the fate of his five passengers.
Wireless operators announced that
messages of inquiry to the William
Greene were being sent to that vessel.
but no more replies had been received.
Some Hope Remains.
Local airmen who have experienced
accidents and have been down In the
same waters said tonight there might
be hope OF the five passengers having
been rescued by other vessels. They
said the waters i'm the latitude and
longitude where Moore was found were
comparatively free from sharks, and
that the passengers might float for
many hours on the life preservers the
Miss Miami carried.
If the five persons were drowned. as
is believed tonight, IL Is expected their
bodies will be afioat by morning. Air
men were volunteering tonight to make
a thorough search at daybreak for the
bodies. with faint hopes still existing
that one or more of the victims may be
alive.
The accident was attended. in the
minds OF many here, by the horror that
no sooner were the passengers thrown
into the sea than sharks seized their
bodies. Later assurances that sharks
were seldom seen in the vicinity in
which the William Greene wirelessed
had tendency TO relieve peoples minds
OF this grewsome phase OF the accident.
The William Greene. an oil tanker.
left New York for Tampico on March 2i
and was 375 miles north OF Miami when
she sent the wireless message telling OF
Moore's rescue. IL is presumed that
this was done as soon as possible after
CnnfInuad nm Para Gnrnn