The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1928-04-18
Plane Sped Through Storm
Without Lights Like
Blind Bird.
BY FELIX Ntzhugh,
United Press staff Correspondent

ST. JOHNS, N. F., April 49,
Indomitable courage, which in
Guided a preference to death from
revolver bullets rather than death
from exposure, spells the reason
that a laughing Celt and two calm
Germans were able to fly west
wardly across the Atlantic in an
air feat that no man before had
been able to do.
Thirty-siX hours the Bremen, the
Junkers transatlantic plane, rode
through the Atlantic skies. Part of
the time the flight was a lark
through cool morning winds The
greater part, however, was a fight
through fog, sleet and vicious winds.
Like Blind Bird in Storm
In those latter hours the airplane
staggered through storm darkened
areas as great blind bird. Then a
haven-a tiny lighthouse that APP
peared at first to be a. sealing
vessel. A level stretch. There was
decision to land. The plane, it's
fuel exhausted, settled down,
cracked through the ice. and the
flight was ended.
But they were saved and the
story of the heroic flight is now
available.
1t took thirty-six hours for the
Bremen to cross the Atlantic, the
same time the three men had fig
ured it would take them to reach
Mitchell Field, L. l., from Dublin.
The first twenty-four hours was
good flying.
Winds became a gale whipping di-
rectly at the planes propeller. The
machine fought on. Fog encom-
passed it. Snow and sleet beat down
on the wings. Darkness was about
them.
They turned the switch for the
lights on their instrument board.
Something had gone wrong and the
lights would not work. So through
the darkness and in a darkened
cabin they steered on, believing they
approached the North American
continent-but there was no way Of
telling where they were.
Finally a dim light appeared on
the instrument board. The three
bent to see the dials.
Plane Goes OFF Course
Relief at the glow of the light
turned to anxiety. They were 400
miles off their course in the direc-
ton of the North Pole. The fuel
supply was rapidly diminishing.
There was no view Of land.
When gray dawn lighted the
skies Friday it was found the plane
again was off its course, founder
ing in fog, going northeastward and
away from safety. The course was
changed to due West, for the three
felt certain that Newfoundland must
be close by. H.
Three sets of eyes scanned the
territory below.
A small lake appeared. It's
smoothness indicated the POSSIBLE
ity of a landing place. With the
gasoline almost gone, the airplane
nosed down to an easy landing, then
cracked through the ice, breaking
the der-carriage.
Stiff with cold, shaking with nerv-
BUSINESS, and dropping from eXhaus-
ton, the three aviators stepped out
of the cabin-to they knew not
what.
The baron was cold and ex-
hausted, ready to shoot his compan-
ions-if worst came to worst.
Then the lighthouse was sighted
and the baron proceeded there di-
rectly. He was given dry footing,
but refused to eat until his two
companions also we're brought from
that bowling wind and biting cold
of Greenly Island.
Then Sunday afternoon out Of the
skies came another airplane to this
little Greenly Island which prob
ably never before had received an
air messenger. 1t was the relief
plane brought through the driving
wind and snow by Duke Schiller and
DR.. Louis Cuisiner.