Evening star., 1925-01-25
A|RPLANE CRASHES
ON MOUNTAIN PEAK
Air Mail Pilot Tells of Thrill
ing Adventure While
Crossing Rockies.

Snatched from death when he
crashed into mountain more thar
5000 feet in the air, Air Mail Pilot
raul L. Scott, who left Salt Lake
Field the afternoon of December rs
In ship 270 with mail for Western
points, feels that it is only through
miracle he has survived to tell his
story. Despite the hazards to which
the round -the-world flyers were some
times subjected, the experience OF
Bllot Scott, as related by himself to
his superior officers and made public
today by Postmaster General New
equals anything of a hazardous ma
ture that befell these globe circIers
I left Salt Lake Field at 12:42 pm.
on December 2S in ship 27O with mail
for Western points," Scott reports
Il encountered snow and mist and
visibility was very poor as far as
Silver Zone Pass. The weather
cleared at Shatter, excepting ground
log gbanks to the north, west and south.
Sees Hole in Fog.
81 headed south to 20 around the
mountain range, when I noticed a
small hole between the fog bank and
the clouds through Saddle Pass on
the regular course. The lowest part
of the Saddle is about 500 feet wide
and can be cleared at 1900 feet. On
each side OF the Saddle the altitude
of range is about $500 feet.
mo part of the mountain range
was visible. I had proceeded through
the hole, my aItimeter registering
1900 feet, TO what L thought to be
half way through, when the hole
closed in behind me and visibility
was then not over 90 feet. No
sooner had I leveled the plane off and
started climbing than / saw 1 was
scraping tops off cedar trees.
Il pulled the throttle and stick
back together and crashed on the
slope of the Saddle about $500 feet
Receivers in Snow.
When ! came to my face was
buried in the snow and ! was cropping
for the snow with my right hand
my left arm and hand feeling numb
and useless. / could not locate
switches so | unfastened my belt and
dug enough snow to pull myself from
under. "A convenient cedar limb being
handy
The plane was completely washed
out. Ny left shoulder was out OF
place and my left arm freezing rap
idly. / noticed / had cigarettes and
matches but that l had left my gun
in Salt Lake. There was heavy fog
with no sun visible to get my bear.
ing. and l also noticed l was eX-
tremeIy lucky 10 be able to notice
anything at all.
81 started down the mountalnslde
20 what l thought TO. be = general
direction of the road through the
Saddle. The snow was deep and the
mountain steep, which made walking
difficult. ! slipped on some shale
rock, striking my left shoulder and
knocking it back into place. l rubbed
nv left arm and hand with snow
until 1t thawed out and felt norman.
walked down the road. The Visl-
bilitv was better at low altitude. l
walked to the railroad tracks and
tagged a passenger train | then
sent wire from Wells, New, the
first stop"
Plane Mass of Junk.
On the morning after the disaster
to Pilot Scott became known, Pllot
Rsrnes with two mechanics flew out
to the scene of the wreck for the
purpose of bringing in the mail.
Mechanician James l. Farrow, VINO
accompanied Barnes, reported that
the wrecked plane of Scott was
found near the top Of the backbone
of the mountain ridge.
such a mass of linen, wire, three
play and Junk it was" he says. ITO
look at it and think that Scott had
lived through it only to crawl out
of q hole too small to get back into
was hardly believable. For some 90
yards up the mountainside the ship
had cleared a path from 40 feet wide
down to nothing. In one place a
tree some Is inches thick stood only
TO be broken off as a toothpick right
at the ground. The ship finally
wound up by turning sideways and
started to roll over only to stop with
it's tail in the top Of a giant cedar
tree some 10 feet from the ground
upside down.
"EIverything from the instrument
board forward was out of the ship
and smashed beyond repair. The
motor had been broken loose and fol-
lowed the fuselage in it's path stop
ping with it's rear end just under the
cockpit edge very close to where
SCOTS head naturally would be. 1t
also was smashed beyond repair.
I'm fact, it is a wonder Scott is
alive to tell US about it,