Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1923-02-02
LIEUT.. HENDE ERSO n
TELLS HOW FATAL
ACCIDENT OCCURRED
ocean Rolp' Attempted BY
Morris AT Too Low Altitude
Caused Mishap, He States
CLARK WARNED OF DANGER
Jas. 3. Cole, Aviation Instructor
Told Americus Man He Was
Too Tired To Fly Again

Lieutenant F. D. Henderson, OF
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind, formerly in the ali
service, was out at the field and aa"
! the accident that caused the deatf
of Clark and Morris. To a reporter
Mr.. Henderson said:
"The airplane in which Morris and
Clark were Killed was flying along
the south side of the field. MT
Morris, with the controls, was giving
the plane what is known among aVl-
ators as the ocean roll" This
movement is made by making the
nose go up and down with forward
movement of the plane. Apparently,
the last time the nose went up, Mr..
Morris closed hte throttle, with the
intention of letting the plane fall
over the left, and come out in a
nose dive, landing out of the nose
dive to give Clark thrill.
"Not realizing that he was so
close to the ground and getting the
nose too high, the weight of the plane
forced it into a tail spin, and as for
ward speed is necessary for control
of the plane it spun to the ground
before it had accumulated enough
speed for the controls to have neces-
sary effect to flatten out the dive
Morris Was Driving.
"There is absolutely no question
but that Mr.. Morris was flying the
plane as the up and down motion
Of the plane while performing the
ocean roll" gave proof that the con-
troll stick was being pushed forward
and pulled back with an even move
ment that could not have been per-
formed by an inexperienced pilot.
Upon examination, before the
bodies were removed from the plane,
both of Clark's hands were closed
in grip as if holding on to the
sides of the plane. Morris right
hand was ON the throttle, and the
throttle was closed. His left hand was
half way between the control stick
and the switch, showing that he had
apparently attempted to cut the
switch to prevent the plane from
catching fire when it struck the
ground. The plane did not catch
fire until it struck the ground.
with the motor idling when the
plane struck the ground, the gas tank
burst, throwing the gasoline over
Clark and the motor. No explosion
could be heaqi, but flames were seen
to shoot 80 feet in the air from the
crash.
Investigation revealed that Clark
was killed instantly from the crash
and not from the effects of the
flames, as was supposed. There was
no attempt made on the part of eth
er men to jump from the plane, as
the clamps on both safety belts were
securely fastened.
There can be question as to tht
condition of the plane before the ac
cldent, as there never has been ar
accident in a Curtiss plano, due tc
a defect in the plane itsels, but al
ways to careless handling or misjudg
! ment. And this accident was dut
absolutely to the careless handling
Oh the plane close to the ground.
Welbur Smiths Plane.
The airplane was the property o1
Welbur Smith, Of Americas, wht
flew it from Montezuma to Southel
Field Thursday morning. Smith anC
| had to abandon contemplated tril
to LaGrange, due to a heavy heaC
wind. Before we had decided not tC
go, 1 had examined the plane thor
oughly myself, and am positive be
yond any doubt that the plane wa.
In perfect flying condition"
j. B. Cole, Pittsburg flyer, who
came to Americus December 20 witt
}. W. Morris, and who has been fol
several years close personal frienC
OF Morris, gave the Times Recorder
his version of the tragedy in which
Clark and Morris were killed Thurs
day afternoon.
l had been teaching Carroll CLARK
to fly" said Cole, "and Thursday We
1lew around the aviation grounds al
Souther Field several times. l was
teaching Carroll how to take off anc
now to make landings. When We
had finished, | told him not to fly
again that day, as his mind would
become tired and he needed to sleer
! Continued on Page Two.)