Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-07-03
PLANE ENDURANCE IS CITED
BY BYRD IN HIS OWN STORY

very carefully on the cities and points
of land we should see.
Soon it began to get dark and the
weather so rainy and thick at times
that we could not check on the lighted
cities below us. was not apprehen-
sive about hitting our objective. be-
cause we had done pretty well with
our compasses over 5000 miles and l
saw no reason why we should not
steer accurately the remaining hun
bred miles.
We saw some bright beacons ahead
at about the time we should be at
Paris. when l was so confident that
we were there that | wrote a radio
mess ,ge for Neville to send reporting
to MI. Wanamaker that Paris was in
sight. But when we reached the bright
lights we found to our great astonish.
ment that we had come to some
amusement resort on the water.
Plane Described Circle.
Our compasses had taken us in a
circle instead of in q straight line, but
it was difficult to tell whether the
circle was to the right or the left and
impossible to know its diameter. So
we found ourselves in most dlscon-
certing predicament, not knowing our
Will CCk le1liltSs cbA e,a1 CIV
ing out before morning and unable to
see land beneath us, as it was very
dark night and the weather was thick.
Judge that we had circled left,
and | more or less guessed our posi-
ton and set another course for Paris.
This was very critical time, indeed,
because, if after flying several hours
and missing Paris, we might have a
forced landing on our return ana NOT
only smash the plane to pieces but
run a big chance of injuring some one
beneath us.
1t is certain that our compass went
had when we aimed for Paris the first
time, and Balchen afterward checked
with me that something seemed wrong
with the compass during that time. =.
But when l set the second course
checked both compasses together ana
found they were OK. l do not pc
lieve there was anything wrong with
the compass-it was some local anec-
ton, probably from some magnetic
material that had been moved In the
ship. -,
we continued our course until we
thought we could be at Paris, but the
weather was so thick that l believe
that IL we had been very close to the
beacon at lie Bourget we could not
have seen 1t.
we have been told that our engines
were heard there with sound lnten.
sitter, but 1 am not able to control
that statement.
We reached the point where. If we
went on further and missed Paris, We
would be likely to have a forced land
ing before our return to water. 1T
would be utterly impossible to land
on unknown land without smashing
everything to pieces. -.
We therefore determined to head
for water and land there the best way
we could. That we could not be able
to see water very clearly we knew.
and / do not believe ever heard of
anybody landing on a pitch dark night
on water without light. But, at any
rate, it was our only hope.
/ want to pause here again and
mention my shipmates. Here they
were faced with situation where the
chances of survival were small, yet
they continued to function efficiently.
At the same time that I admired
them beyond words, I felt that the en-
tire responsibility was mine-that 1t
was who had invited them to make
this flight with me, and that missing
Paris was my fault.
Prepared for End.
I will not note here the thoughts
that went through my head at this
much Of the families these fellows
light when l invited them to make
this trip with me.
The strain was prolonged, and one
had lots Of time to think things over.
To make matters worse, the weather
still was squally and nasty. We be-
gan to make preparations for the end
and put some of our scientific data in
places where we thought there would
be the least chance of their being in
jured by water.
I set our course to take us back to
the amusement resort we had seen,
because at least there was some light
there. We came out of the fos and
saw it several times from above. We
circled slowly around and attempted
to find some landing place near, but
there was none.
The only other thing we could see
was some revolving light some dis.
lance away. We made for it, hoping
that the flashes of this light would
enable us to see the water sufficiently
to judge our distance above 1t when
we came down. But when we got
there we found that the beams of
light travelled SO rapidly over the
water that they were of no use to us.
We had brought with us for naviga.
ton purposes some bombs which
would ignite on striking water and
give light for few minutes. Our gas
was getting low and we decided to
try a landing. Balchen was at the
wheel.
Thrown Out Window.
We came down as slowly as possible
without losing flying speed and fall
ing into the water. The wheels
touched first and were shorn off the
fuselage. A second or two afterward
there was smash and the whole
plane instantly filled with water.
Neville says that he saw me shot
from the window. out Of which I was
looking to try to judge the distance
above the water. I found myself
swimming around and swan back to
the window and heard Neville calling
for me.
Iyelled to him, but was not sure he
heard me. But I could dimly see him
getting out of the window on the other
side. He afterward told me that AZ
hours of roaring engines had deafened
him so that when / called him he
could barely hear my voice.
Seeing that he was safe swan for
ward to the cockpit. Reaching in for
Balchen / found him extricatine him.
self in dazed condition. He also was
deaf, which I did not realize at the
time.
yelled at the top of my voice for
Acosta, but got no answer. I thought
he was pinned somewhere under the
water. We looked in the cabin, but
could not see him and thought that he
might have been thrown clear and
stunned. We continued to yell for
him and looked around, but could not
find him.
1t was very dark. The plane was