Evening star., 1923-09-24
2AMER|CAN A|RMEN
DIE EWHENL|GHTN|NG
DESTROYS BALLOON
Lieuts. 0Imsted and Shop
taW Lose Lives With Three
Others in Bennett Race.
PILOTS OF ARMY ENTRY
SWEPT INTO BIG STORM
Ten Balloonists Still Missing-U.s.
Navy Bag Forced to Land,
But Crew Saved.
By the Associated Press.

By the Associated Press.
BRUSSELS, September 24.-Five
airmen, including two United States
Army lieutenants, lost their lives. an
other was seriously injured and five
balloons were smashed on the ground
or destroyed by lightning in the
James Gordon Bennett cup race,
started yesterday under the most ad-
verse weather conditions ever expe-
rienced in the history of the competi-
tion. The dead are:
Lieut.. Olmstead and Lieut.. Choptaw
Lieut.. Olmsted and Lieut.. Shoptaw
S-6
Lieut. Won Giruningen and Lieut.
Wehren of the Swiss balloon Geneva.
Penaranda Barca of the Spanish
balloon Polar.
Gomez Guillamon, assistant to
Barca in the polar, was seriously
hurt.
Navy Balloon Safe.
The United States Navy A-6699 and
the Fernando III, a French entry
piloted by G. Blanchet, were the only
balloons reported up to noon today as
having landed safely.
In view of the terrific storm which
broke out half an hour after the last
balloon took off and which was rag
ing over northern Belgium and Hol-
land and the neighboring North sea
waters until 10 o'clock last night,
fears are entertained for the safety
of the ten balloonists not yet heard
from. These are Bienaime and Ra-
VIII hnl f0nr Nv EN~oY
muyter and Weenstra, balloon Bel
gica Belgium: Dunville and Spencer,
England; Armbruster and Picard,
Switzerland; Delasierra and Magda-
lena. Spain.
The officials of the Brussels Aero
Club, appalled, by the catastrophe. point
out that they had advocated post
ponement of the race, but found that
They will propose changes to over
come this difficulty in future. Many
members, however, favor canceling
the competition altogether.
Third u. y. Gntrant Bursts.
The third American entrant In the
race, the balloon Saint Louis, never
took the air, bursting before the start
from the pressure of her anchor rope.
The SIS was caught in the vortex of
q terrific southwesterly gale in cross
ing the Belgian frontier about
O'Clock last evening, the rainstorm
forcing the balloonists to unload all
their ballast. When the balloon
crashed at Nistelrode both men were
dead.
when lighting struck the balloon,
while Lieut.. Choptaw suffered death
when the SO fell, in the opinion of
DR. van Binbergen Of Nistelrode, who
examined the bodies.
Lieut.. OImsted's body was found
under the bag in the basket, while
that of his companion was about
twenty-five feet away, as If the
victim had jumped.
The disqualification of the United
States Army balloon So had just
been decided upon because of her
rammfng 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.
in Brussels.
King Sends Sympathy.
King Albert this afternoon sent a
staff officer to the United States and
Spanish embassies and the Swiss le
cation to express his rnajesty's con-
dolences over the loss of lives in the
cup race.
gian entry, met with a considerable
nishap shortly after the start. She
was beaten down by the rain squall
and fouied the chimney in the indus
trial suburb of Woluwe. Pilot Veen-
stra was obliged to dump the entire
ballast, including the scientific in
struments, before the balloon again
ascended, thus greatly handicapping
the aeronauts for their flight.
Seventeen In Lineup.
Seventeen balloons lined up for the
race The United States, Belgium,
France, Spain and Switzerland were
represented by three entries, and
England by two. The three Italian
entries withdrew, as we'll as one
carrying the colors of Poland.
A torrential rain fell as the bags
CONTINUED on Page 2, Column A.