Evening star., 1928-04-23

latter was kept here through last
minute decision by the heads or his
company that the competent pilot
should be held In reserve for possible
rescue work. should any mishap occur
to the relief expedition.
Mechanic In Plane.
The only other persons in the plane
with Balchen and Fit2maurice were
Ernst Koeppen. mechanic, who will
guperintend repairs to the Bremen. and
Charles j. ". Murphy, Alliance cor
respondent. Floyd Bennett, head pilot
of the relief plane when she hoped
of from Detroit Friday for the 300
mile nonstop flight that brought her
to St Agnes. was robbed OF his place
in, the expedition by illness, the jinx
that Kas haunted him for more than q
year. Still weak from an attack oil
grippe when he left Detroit. Bennett
An but collapsed on the way here and
was put 10 bed with o. heavy cold. Then
the start for Greenly Island was post
poned a day in the hope that he and
Balchen. also just over the grippe,
would recover sufficiently TO make the
flight.
A year ago Bennett was eliminated
from Byrd's transatlantic fight by IN.
juries received on the first tests ol
the plane America. A days rest pu'
Balchen in shape again, but Bennett's
sickness proved more serious, and
hours after the Alliance relief plane
left st, Agnes, FAiZchild cabin mono.
plane, piloted by Capt. Godfrey Dean
OF the Canadian Fairchild Co. at GRAND
Mere, Quebec, took of with Bennett Tor
the city OF Quebec.
An hour later, the machine landed
on the Plains OF Abraham. Bennett
was transferred to waiting ambulance
and hurried TO the jeffrey Hale Hos
pital in Quebec for rest and adequate
treatment and care. Bennett. at Grand
Mere, rs miles away, telegraphed his
wife In Brooklyn 10 take the night tram
from New York.
Film Plane Used.
The plane that took Bennett tc
Quebec was here 10 carry out tllIIis In
the keen rivalry that has existed ever
since the Bremen's landing. but II was
unhesitatingly placed at the disposa
of the North American Newspaper AL
lance by the Fox News Co.
The flyer was removed at his own re-
quest and by the advice OF DIR. Joseph
iapernte. who made the i6-mile auto
and sleigh trip twice from Murray Bay
To minister TO the stricken Atrman
| Thomas v. Mulroy. engineer OF the Byre
Antarctic expedition. talked to Bennett
by telephone two hours after the Myers
| arrival In Quebec and reported that hii
chief felt great deal better
| The Alliance relief plane was loaded
| 10 a total weight OF almost i2,00t
pounds, which represented her owr
| bulk OF 5000 pounds. and an equal mass
| of crew, fuel for the Bremen and herself
and five or six hundred pounds OF re-
! pairs for the damaged German plane
| The latter included a complete new
under carriage and wheels. meta
| propeller taken from the Junkers' mono.
| plane Fla, now at Curtiss Field, anc
| the necessary tools for completing tht
needed requirements at 0reenly Island
The relief planes start was not with
out It's lighter side filr-coated mo-
ton picture photographer, who had
made himself suspiciously helpful In
loading supplies aboard the relief plane
| tried unsuccessfully to stow away. IL
was said he spent almost the entire
night In the after cabin of the big ship
but Balehen's keen eyes found him out
and he was elected from the plane
Having failed In clevernesg, he tried IA
beg his way on board and was the most
detected man In the world when he
fnaIly WAS left behind amid the jeera
Of his fellows, 10 whom he had boasted
that others might be baked but he
was going 10 fly into 0feenly Island on
the relief plane.
Aboard the latter at the start was
400 gallons OF fuel for her own motors
and 90 gallons OF benzol, the special