New Britain herald., 1925-09-04
Board of Inquiry So Believes After Inspect ing Wreckage of Shenandoah No Prevention Possible.
HOOTERS STEAL
 SHIPS INSTRUMENTS
By The Associated Press.

By The Associated Press.
 Caldwell, O., Sept. Rt--Air rushing into holes torn in the Shen- andoah by the twisting off of the radio and control cabins caused the buckling of the ship and it's break ing up into two maJor parts, In the opinion of the naval board of in- quiry that visited the wreckage Of the ships prov today.
 Shaping of guy wires at the same time that the cabins were torn away In the gale also served to weaken the structure.
 The stress on the hull of the ship by it's rolling and rising and falling in the wind and electric storm are believed responsible for the wrench Ing loose of the cabins.
 Commander S. M. Kraus. Con- nander G. Fulton, Lieutenant Com mander William Nelson and c. P, Burgess, expert technicist on air ship construction, all of Lakehurst. visited the wreckage of the ships nose, In company with Lieutenant R. G. Mayer, one of the survivors who landed with that portion 12 miles from where the tail and mid section fell.
 In discussing the crash 1t was agreed among the inquirers that nothing could have prevented the disaster except, perhaps, greater spced 10 get away from such gale'
 Technicist Burgess said that ships had not as yet been devised capable of attaining speed sufficient to have served the purpose, however.
 Valuable information that may have aided naval officials in deter mining angles of the wreckage or the Shenandoah and the events lead ing up to the buckling Of the snip is lost through footing which con- tinued all night.
 Naval officials this morning ex- pressed deep concern over the ap- sence of such portions of the 'wTeck- age as whole motors, the controi wheel, switch boards and various minor controls. These portions Of the wreck are vital in the Investigation but they have been scattered far ana wide.
 Commander Kraus said 1t would be useless to attempt to salvage or the wreckage for further use. sal vaging even for experimental and study purposes was prevented oy Che footing that has occurred. Lieutenant Mayer said that when the pro"
 t,,to oof two cabins that had been lost' lo- day when he escorted the 1nqu1rers to the hillside on which the wreck age lay, the framework was strlp- ped of every loose article.
 Covering and cells had all been torn away with the exception ol some of the silver cloth over the up- permost part of the ships remnant Cables, platforms, joints, gasoline tanks electric communication wires everything detachable-was gone
 Looting had stopped today at Sharon however. an improVlsed gUard of American Legion men In oyeralls, straw hats, khaki belts ana carving rifles, standing watch and keeping spectators beyond the fences.
 ]. R. Lansdowne of Cincinnati brother of the dead commander ar rived this morning and talked with naval officers. No definite decision had been made as to the disposition 4 of the body It was considered probable, however. that it would be N> taken to Washington for burial Tn n Arlington cemetery.
 Farmers around the Shenandoah Hreckage scenes began charging ad- mission prices to the grounds thls morning. Their scale was 25 cents per person or one dollar for auto mobiles. Water was being sold at 10 cents glass.
 \ Before daylight the crowds Of curious again began swarming to the wreckage scenes. By ' O'CLOCK Six airplanes arrived ov"r the debris Lj strewn countryside in efforts to land A heavy fog hung close to earth making the landing on the hilly ground more perilous than ever
 Army trucks. official army cars, and army motorcycles, some Of them with sidecar passengers, arrived dur ing the night to augment the groups finding work here and there. With the khaki-clad men were naval off, cers, some of them in blue uniforms some of them in white.
 The five survivors, including Lieutenant Rosendahl. who spent z the night in Caldwell, arose refreshed this morning, saying they had spent a restful night, They were awaiting ! dispatches from navy department officials. headquarters was fitted up in a Caldwell hotel from where the work of investigation and in uuiry Is being Coiducted.
 Commanders ]. H. Klein. NJ. Krsus and William Nelson arrived at Cald- well shortly before g o'clock from Lakehurst. N. J., and immediately get about making preparations to conduct the official inquest. Died in Line of Duty
 The cause of death of the 14 men of the Shenandoah crew was off cially declared to have been due to an accident in line of duty and lot to any misconduct on their part, 1t |. was determined by the board of i'm N quest. composed of Commander J. H. Klein, Commander Sidney N.