Evening star., 1925-10-04
OFFICERS DEFEND
.COMDR.LANSDOWNE
Col. Hall and Lieut.. Anderson
Refute Testimony of
Capt. Heinen.
BY the Associated Press.

LAkEHURST, y. j., October g.
Disputing the theory Of Capt. Anton
Heinen, veteran airship pilot, that the
primary cause of the Shenandoah dis
aster was a failure Of Comdr. Zachary
Lansdowne and the other officers to
heed obvious danger signals, two sur
vivors testified today before the naval
court of inquiry here that no i'm
mediate danger signals were manifest
until just before the huge craft broke
in midair.
These survivors were Col. C. G..
Hall. Army Air Service observer on
board, and Lieut.. Joseph B. Ander-
son, the ships aerologist. Anderson
said that Heinens whole theory was
based upon inadequate and erroneous
information, while Col. Hall said EN-.
phatically that he had been in COM
| mand of the Shenandoah he would
have taken no course Of action differ
ent from that which Comdr. Lans.
downe followed.
Drift Testimony Contested.
Capt. Heinen's declaration that the
drift of the ship to the right con-
stituted danger signal that should
have been needed Immediately was
| contested by both witnesses. Ander-
son said the drift was a natural one,
| considering that the vessel was fly
ing westward in a southwesterly wind.
while Col. Hall said at no time did
| he notice a drift that was different
| from what he would have expected
| under the prevailing conditions.
Both Hall and Anderson asserted
| there was nothing to indicate that
| the Shenandoah was being drawn into
the vortex of a storm even up to the
| time of the first rise, and the Army
| observer told the court that it was
| not until 10 or Is seconds before the
ship actually broke that he observed
any signs that she was being drawn
| into danger.
Lieut.. Anderson was examined at
great length as to conditions from
3:2O am, the time he got to the con-
troll car, until the smash-up occurred
He expressed the opinion that the
ascending current which took the
Shenandoah up on two uncontrolled
rises was a purely local one, caused
| cold air from the north and lower
layer of warm air from the south
Air Not Bumpy.
Both this witness and Col. Hall said
there was no bumpiness in the air
such as would indicate the immediate
| proximity of a thunder squan. An
derSon said at no time did he oh.
| serve any immediate danger before
the ascending current was reached,
and that when some time before he
advised a course to the south it was
| because of his fear of a then remote
danger.
Before this phase of the INQUIRY
was reopened, Capt. Hienen was re-
| called for a verification of his testi.
| mony, and at its conclusion the court.
upon his request, struck from the
record as irrelevant the statement
made yesterday by James Work, chief
| craftsman at the air station, that he
! had told his wife Heinen was a liar"
/ and he knew he was liar" when he
| accused the Bureau of Aeronautics
| OF the Navy Department of sending
| the shenandoah men to their death.
Heinen Protests Epithet.
Capt. Heinen told the court that
he had made no such accusation
against the bureau; that Work could
not support the statement that he
had made and requested that Work
| apologize. He said he had not want
| ed to make any personal issues. but
| that II such issues were to be made
he would fight and would show Work
| that he had the ability to do so.
Except for a single session Mon
day morning to be devoted to the
piecing together of few loose ends
the first phase of the inquiry is closed
and the remaining two phases will be
taken up in Washington about the
middle of next week.