Evening star., 1928-11-05
YANKEE DOODLE
AWATORS KILLED
Plane Crashes Into Arizona
CIiff-Bodies of CoIIyer
and Tucker Found.
BY the Associated Press.


PRESCOTT. Ariz., November 5.-A
famed triumvirate of the air-two
noted air speedsters and a fleet little
champion of the upper reaches-has
written its last entry on the pages of
aviation history in a bold record chal-
lenge which ended abruptly against a
sheer Arizona mountain cliff.
Death penned the final report of the
courageous attempt of Capt. c. B. D.
Collyer to fash to a new West-to-East
transcontinental nonstop record in the
trim Yankee Doodle, with Harry
Tucker. the planes owner riding as a
passenger.
The broken bodies of the two men.
Collyer a co-holder of the around-the-
world travel records, and Tucker rec
ord holder with his proud little air
Whippet of both East-WeSt and West
East transcontinental records, were
brought into Prescott on pack burrows
today. Letters in their pockets were
needed to establish the mems identities.
Nothing was left to salvage, indeed.
hardly enough was left to identify, of
the Lockheed-Vega which thundered
into the side of Crook Canyon, % miles
south of here, Saturday night at ter
rife clip.
Mist and rain, the nemesis of many
another birdman overlook the plane in
most dangerous part of its route, and,
together with motor trouble, undoubt-
edly caused the crash.
Collyer and Tucker apparently died
instantly. though there was mute evil
dence they made a last-moment effort
to use their parachutes to desert 5heir
priced ship. Their parachutes were
open, but landing flares had been ie-
leased, leading to the supposition they
sought nearly to the end to bring the
Yankee Doodle down to an undamaeed
landing.
Weather Unfav0rabIe.
In the face of unfavorable weather
reports the craft took off from Mines
Field, Los Angeles, at 1923 pm. Satur-
day on an attempted nonstop flight
to New York. which the owner an
nounced also was to be an attempt to
lower the Yankee Doodles record of
18 hours 58 minutes for the eastward
passage.
Urgent business in New York was
given by the owner for the precipitous
departure.
The plane evidently cracked up be-
tween 7:30 and pm Saturday, though
/ its fate and that of the passenger and
! pilot who dared and lost was not
learned until yesterday afternoon, when
searchers pushed into the rugged
mountains, and found remnants of the
ship Strewn for q quarter mile down
the canyon
For almost an hour Saturday night,
as the last flight of the Yankee Doodle
has been pieced together by the stories
of observers, the famous plane and pilot
battled despite a failing motor to clear
the 5000 foot peaks of the Bradshaw
Mountains. At 7:30 o'clock its knock
ing, sputtering motor had been heard
8 miles south of Prescott
Some time later the plane circled
four times narrow valley in which
| twinkled through the rain and mist.
| The steady drizzle of rain defeated
| Collyer's attempt to find a landing
place.
AS the last circle was made, the
plane was only a few hundred feet off
the ground Then Collyer apparently
determined to make last desperate at
tempt to force his plane over the
mountain.
]. B. Tomlinson, manager Of the
Storm Cloud Mines. was the last man
down the canyon sputtering as If the
motor was failing, and disappeared into
| the gloom after scraping treetops. A
short time later he heard crash and
a loud explosion.
Gasoline ExpIOdes.
The ship carried 400 gallons of gaso-
| line at the take-off, which exploded as
it smashed into the cliff with bullet
like speed
The Yankee Doodle's eastward record
was made August 20 with Art Goebel,
| famed Pacific flyer, at the controls.
An average pace of 140 miles an hour
was maintained
After being forced down by gasoline
shortage near Prescott while trying for
a westward record in the Transconti-
mental Air Derby, the ship was returned
| to New York and on october 25. 10
days ago, Capt. Collyer brought 1t
through to Mines Field in "a hours So
minutes, cutting two hours from the
existing westward record. Tucker, a
Santa Monica capitalist and sportsman,
rode with his ship each time.
With John Henry Mears as his
partner, Capt Collyer set a new record
for a trip around the world in % days
Is hours 81 minutes, completing the
Journey at New York in July of this
year. Collyer, former air mail pilot,
piloted a plane along much of the route
to set the record He was president
of the Aviation Service Corporation of
New York, organized Ito do unusual
| tiai,aCc in aviqtiOn 4"