New Britain herald., 1927-07-16
Smith and Bronte Ex. plain Gas Pumps Fail- ed to Function at High Altitude, M a aking Them Think Supply Was Exhausted.
Kept Forging Ahead, Not
 Knowing How Long They Would Last-Plane
 Virtually Demolished in Landing on Island.

Honolulu, July Is ReHavinR completed their uncertain flight to Hawaii by deliberately plunging into a kaiwe tree on the Island Molas kai, Ernest L. Smith and Emory Bs Bronte. explained as they rested in Honolulu, their goal, today, whN their radio was silent for five hours after they sent out sos. calls and why they continued on toward land without informing rescue ships that they still were in the air.
 Lost Their Antenna
 When still 300 miles or more from land, Bronte revealed the failure of their gasoline pump led them to believe their fuel was running e1. tremely low and it caused the plano to lose so much altitude that their trailing wireless antenna struck tho sea and was torn away.
 The decrease in altitude had tho effect of resuscitating thu gasoline pump and they shot up into the air | again and headed for land without knowing how long they would last, without knowing whether their calls had been heard and uncertain of their bearings.
 E. Navy f1ieEs,sannounced they had fsaIVaked the motor and instruments from the wrecked plane and had found her gasoline tanks absolutely dry.
 First Civilian Pliers When the initial excitement and confusion had disappea,ed Smith and Bronte had distinguished them- selves as being the first civilians to fly from California to Hawaii. They had won battle with unfavorable weather, preverse luck snd all the natural odds that f1iers face in cross- ing the sea with land planes. They had outsmarted fate by diving into the tree when their last crop of gas- cline had been used, thus forestall- ing the possibility of being pinned beneath their plane in an upset.
 From the time they left the GolA den Gate at 11:0s a. m.. Thursday l Ohlll tuCy WSlc HCdl dCStlAd~ aion, they saw neither iand nor seas
 Saw Many Mirages
 Several times Smith reported sees ing beautiful stretches of land" tempting enough for the exhausted fliers to alight upon, but the sights were only illusions-mlracles cast upon the clouds and fog by the light of the moon.
 From the time they dived into the fog bank off the Golden Gate until they picked the tree as the softest availa ble thing to land on their night presented series of difficulties.
 The climax of their trouble came about 5:15 a. m., Honolulu time
 Honolulu time is 1-2 hours behind Pacific time and f-2 hours behind eastern daylight saving time). At that moment they sent out their first sos. after having concluded they had only enough gasoline to stay in the air another hour. They presumably were about zoo miles from Honolulu and 500 miles from the nearest land.
 I've are going to land in the sea- We have rubber life boat, but send help" several ships reported them at saying.
 Three steamers. the lirer Wilhel- nina, the army transpor Kenowil ard the steamer President Pierce, turned off their courses slmost i'm. mediately and rushed .o their aid
 the Wilhelmina appearing to be the nearest of them-appa. .vi tly abou,
 zoo miles away.
 Less than 30 minutes later theJ , mating their gasoline supply suffi.
 cient to last them four hours. Thl
 rlea for assistance was continued.
 Later the Wilhelmina wirelesset
 that the plane had settled to tn, water and that the ship supposedl! l was about 90 miles from it. All radit stations were silenced in the hop, : that further word would come iron { the monoplanes radio. None came {. Visions of possible disaster forced l the ships toward the spot at full . speed. Then there was long silence : Word Is Received l Word of their forced landing ol = Molakai at 9:46 a. ln., Honolul,
 time, then was flashed into Honolulu B Rescuers turned back on thei
 courses and army planes left iron
 Wheeler Field, near here. to talk
 them of the leper island and brinI them in triumph to Honolulu. The little monoplane City of Oak }. land. which had been groomed fo s weeks in anticipation of he- oversee r flight. was virtually demolished. Tn plane was in the air 25 hours and + minutes. during which she travele
 about 2S40 miles. Smith hopes { < salvage the engine. but no moro. T Still 60 miles from their destina @ tion. Smith and Bronte wirelesse q Captain Lowell H. Smith Of rounl !, .aCoatinped sA Rass y3w3 i