The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1928-12-24
TWOPLANE CRASHES
TAKE TOLL OF five
LIVES OVER SUNDAY
Four Perish in Flames of Craft
Wrecked When Cold Mo-
tor Causes Stall
SURVIVOR ESCAPES BLAZE
Unlicensed Minneapolis Pilot
Crashes as Condemned
Jenny TaiIspins

Chattanooga, Tenn. Dec. 24-(P)-
M. w. Roar, sole survivor of an air.
plane tragedy near Mari field which
caused the immediate death OF four
persons. today attributed the accident
to q cold motor which failed to gain
altitude after the take off early yes
terday morning.
Roar, OF Chicago. who is travel
ing representative for Macon, Ga,
firm was semi conscious after the
crash, but succeeded in extricating
himself from the wreckage and
crawled away from the burning plane
after the gasoline tank had exploded.
Companions on the disastrous flight
over the newly established Chicago
Atlanta air mail line could not liber-
ate themselves and persisted in the
flames.
Victims Are Passengers
Victims included:
Charles H. Shield, OF Louisville. KY.
pilot; Raymond D. Harris, another
pilot who was making study Of the
new air route; G. p. Mayer, st. Elmo,
Tenn, and g. L. Brunette, Of Chi
cago.
Both Mayer and Burnette were en-
route to spend the Christmas holi-
days with relatives in Atlanta and
Macon, Ca. respectively.
Roar said Shield experienced diff
ficulty in printing and starting the
motor, and after racing the engine
about 10 minutes started down the
1000 foot runway Of the new airport.
L. Altitude Bank Fails. ...-..-,-..
The plane was about six feet above
ground at the end Of the field, and q
railroad enbankment directly ahead
caused the pilot to bank to the right,
apparently expecting to clear the OBJ
struction and gain altitude, according
to the survivor.
Instead, the plane lost altitude by
the maneuver. and an instant later
crashed against roof, rebounded
against tree and finally ploughed
into q garage.
Minneapolis, Dec. 24.-(P)-Fred
Detlefsen, 40 years old, an unlicensed
amateur airplane pilot. was killed and
Stuart Pepin, q student pilot and pas
senger. was seriously injured when q
condemned type army biplane known
as q Jenny" stalled 200 feet above
Void Chamberlain municipal airport
and crashed about noon Sunday.
The plane struck nose down with
such force that the motor was driven
into the front cockpit where Detlefsen
was plotting the ship. The wooden
fuselage splintered and Pepin received
severe injuries about the head and
body, q fracture Of the skull and
other injuries.
When help arrived Detlefsen was
found dead in his cockpit.
Eye witnesses said the biplane
came over the field from the south
with the evident purpose Of landing
but q ground haze reduced visibility
and Detlefsen overshot the field. He
tried to correct his position by bank
ing but the motor failed and the ship
went into q tail spin, making three
slow revolutions before striking the
ground.
Pilots and others at the airport
who saw the accident indicated that
in their opinion the crash was pos.
sibly due to q mistake In judgment
| by Detlefsen when he attempted tc
| turn his ship so close to the ground
George Specht. manager Of the
traffic for universal airplanes, said
that Sunday was no day for an but
q well qualified and experienced pilot
to be operating an airplane.