New Britain herald., 1928-01-10
Bodies of Three Occu- pants, Horribly Man. gled, Found in Debris Near Canajoharie- Had Crashed in Fog.
Disaster Occurred About 100 Yards From Farm. house, But Visibility Was So Poor That None Knew of Nearby Tragedy.

CanaJoharie, N. Y., Jan. 10 GP,- The wreckage of the airplane which has been missing since Sunday after noon and the bodies of its three pas. sengers were found in field seven miles southwest of here today. In. dications were that the plane crash. ed in fog.
 The victims of tho accident were Lieutenant George R. Benedict, Cur tiss field flyer: Raymond Henries of Buffalo, the pilot and Captain Ed ward M. Pauley. Albany aviator. Crashed Near House The fog was 30 thick throughout Sunday afternoon and all day yes- terday that. although the aircraft crashed to earth within 100 yards of the farmhouse occupied by J. E. Bartlett, no one in the vicinity knew of the accident until Sheriff E. J. sheehan of Montgomery county, at the head of a party. of searchers. To- cated the bodies and the wreckage when the mists were dispelled this morning.
 The bodies of two of the men were buried under the wreckage, while that of the third occupant of the plane was found about 40 feet away.
 The farm on which the airplane crashed is about one mile west of Rural Grove, about eight miles from Fonda and seven miles from this village, on the south side of the Mo hawk river. The region is sparsely settled.
 Radio is Used Radio played a prominent part in the search for the missing aircraft, Fairchild monoplane, which took : on from Mineola for Buffalo on Sum day. Station WGY of Schenectady broadcast last night the news that the plane was missing. Shortly aft erwards several listeners-in who live in the vicinity of Rural Grove re- ported having heard the drone of an airplane motor on Sunday afternoon, followed by sound like q crash. i Acting upon this information, Sheriff Shehan and party of searchers spent the night exploring the woods and fields near Rural Grove, flicker ing lanters providing their only it. lumination.
 Henries and Lieutenant Benedict were aboard the plane when 1t left Mineola. Stopping at Albany, they took Captain Pauley aboard. and then headed their ship toward Buff falo. The plane was sighted over Schenectady and Fonda shortly aft erwards, and then all trace of it was lost.
 Horribly Muttlated
 The bodies of the three aviators were fearfully mangied. The one that was found apart from the plane had the head split open. while one of the men buried in the wreckage was decapitated. It was impossible to identify the bodies until after the arrival of the coroner.
 | Apparently the plane was coming from the northeast when it struck at an angle of about 33 degrees. This would indicate that flying over or through the fog. the pilot did not realize that he was near the earth. The plane came down with its engine l running. It struck . small hum- mock of earth, bounded in the air and hit the earth again, only to re. bound once more. clearing wire fence without breaking . strand of wire. The first impact was in ploughed field. but after jumping the fence the plane, or what was left of it, stopped in a meadow.
 Motors Torn Apart The plane. after first crashing, either bounded over or tore along the ground for distance of about 100 yards. So great was the impact