Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1923-09-25
LIGHTNING STRIKES
RACING BALLOONS;
5 AERONAUTS DEAD
American AirShip Destroyed
by Bolt in Bennett Trophy
Contest and Two Army Of
ficers Are Killed


Associated Press.)-Five airmen, in
GLIDING two United States army
lieutenants, lost their lives, another
! was injured severely and five bal
looms were smashed on the ground
or destroyed by lightning in the
James Gordon Bennett Cup race,
started yesterday under the most
adverse weather condition in the
history of the competition.
The dead are Lieutenant Olmstead
and Lieutenant Choptaw, of the u.
S. army balloon SIS.
Lieut.. Won Gruningen and Lieu
tenant Wehren, of the Swiss balloon
Geneva.
Penaranda Barca, of the Spanish
balloon Polar.
Gomez Guillamon, assistant to
Barca in the Polar, was hurt.
The U. S. navy A-6S99 and the
Fernando III, French entry pilot
ed by G.. Blanchet, were the only
balloons reported up to noon today
as having landed safely.
Fear for Others
In view of the terrific storm
which broke out half an hour after
the last balloon took off and
which was raging over northern
Belgium and Holland and the
neighboring north sea water until
10 o'clock last night, fears are en-
tertained for the safety of the ten
balloonists not yet heard from.
These are Bienaime and Ravaine,
balloon Picardy, France; Demuyter
and Weenstra, balloon Belgica, Bel
guim; Dunville and Spencer, Eng
land Armbruster and Picard, Switz-
erland; Delasierra and Magdalena,
Spain.
Officials of the Brussels Aero club,
Eappalled by the catastrophe, point
out that they had advocated post
ponement of the race but found
that the rules were inflexible They
will propose changes to overcome
this difficulty in the future. Many
members, however, favor cancella.
ton of the competition altogether.
st. Louis" Bursts
The third American entrant in
the race, the balloon st. Louis, new
er took the air, bursting before the
start from the pressure of her an
Choir rope.
The Sc was caught in the vortex
of terrific southwesterly gale in
crossing the Belgian frontier about
Z o'clock last evening, the rain
storm forcing the balloonists to un.
balloon crashed at Nistelrode, in
Holland, both men were dead.
Lieutenant Olmstead was killed
! when lightning struck the balloon,
while Lieutenant Choptaw suffered
death when the SO fell, in the
opinion of DR.. Van Binbergen, OF
Nistelrode, who examined the bodies.
Lieutenant Olmstead's body was
found under the bag in the basket,
while that of his companion was
about rs feet away as if the victim
had jumped.
The disqualification of the u. S.
army balloon So had just been de-
cided upon because of her ramming
the Belgian entry Vile de
Bruxelles, at the start of the race,
when news of the disaster to the
American balloon reached the Aero
club
The families of the victims are in
Brussels.
SURVIVING AERO, -AUT
rETT g GT0PV nE VT-NFTS
MALINES, Belgium, Sept. "a
Gomez Guillamon,, of the Spanish
balloon Polar, which crashed here
late yesterday, while competing in
the James Gordon Bennett cup race,
had sufficiently recovered from his
injuries today to tell the story of the
accident. Guillamon, who is under
treatment in the Malines hospital
said the Polar was struck by light
feet. 1t had only a few second pre-
viously escaped crashing to the
ground. Beranda Barca, the other
| occupant, threw two bags of sand
overheard and the balloon shot up
right into the teeth of the storm.
Then came the lightning bolt
which set the bag on fire Tt burned
speedily, with the exception of the
upper part, which was of slower com.
bustion and acted as a parachute.
! Guillamon jurnped when the baske-
was a hundred feet above the ground
and landed in a soft, bushy swamp.
Both of his legs were broken. Barca
was killed by the lightning bolt.