The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1928-07-07
ROME FLIERS
Wait repairs
TO END DASH
Cancel Plan to Complete
Flight in Borrowed
Plane.
LANDING GEAR BROKEN
Latin-AmeriCa Eager to
Honor Two Men for
Ocean Feat.
LANDING GEAR BROKEN
BY U. G. KEENER
United Press staF Correspondent

DHitcu ETobS OkaH correspondents
RIO DE JANEIRO, July Tn
the little coastal city of Natal,
Majors Arturo Ferrarin and Carlo
Del Prete, who flew here from
Rome to establish new long dis
tance fight record, awaited today
while repairs were completed on
their Savoia monoplane.
Once the repairs are completed
the two calm-faced Italian fiiers
will start down the Brazilian coast
hne-soaring over towns and cities
that are eager to welcome them
and cheer their feat-to Rio De
Janeiro. A great welcome awaits
them here.
Ferrarin and Del Perte had in
tended leaving this morning in an
airplane offered by the Latecoere
Airplane Company, but after con-
ference with the Italian ambas-
sador by telegraph, decided against
the flight.
Probably they will await now
until their own plane, the same
craft in which they established a
new endurance-f1ight record and a
new long distance record, is re-
conditioned. This should take about
week.
Fly Through Dense Fog
Flying through a dense fog, with
their gasoline almost exhausted. the
two Italian war flyers made a sud-
den landing on the beach at Touros
Thursday night.
They had been in the air fifty
hours and fifteen minutes. They had
flown more than 4,000 miles to es-
tablish a new long distance record.
They were weary. Their fight had
not been completed-that is they
had not reached their destination of
BuenoS Aires-but the impenetrable
fog prevented their continuing.
After flying almost blindly about
Natal, stopping in going southwark
by storm and prevented from find
ing the Latecoere flying field at
Natal by fog, the two finally chose
the apparently long smooth beach
at Touros for landing place.
Landing Gear Broken
Their heavy machine stuck in the
sand, the wheels digging in as the
plane roared to a stop. AS it landed
the landing gear was broken.
Ferrarin and Del Prete were far
from the welcome that awaited them
in Buenos Aires, in Rio de Janerio
and even in Natal where their plane
already had been sighted and had
brought hundreds to the street.
They were in territory unknown
to them.
But within a few hours an air.
plane went down from Natal and
rescued the two, taking them back
to Natal and to the first part of the
great celebration that the Latin
American countries are ready to
give to the Latin fiers.
Land at Lonely Spot
Immediately they sought rest.
Neither had rested much in the
long fifty hours through the ter
rife heat over the African desert
the dark and almost blind hours
over the south Atlantic and finally
the hours when they fought through
the dense fog and storm in Brazil.
They had landed once near Natal
at a public bathing beach. It was
lonely spot and the fliers started
from there desiring to make Rio De
Janeiro.
They went south but ran into a
bad rain storm and had to turn
back. They passed Natal the Sec
ond time searching for the Late
coere field. The fog made it i'm
possible for them to see this field
and they finally discovered them
selves over water. Turning inward
they saw a smooth beach and Just
as their gasoline started giving out.
came to landing.
Cancel Flight Plan
It was then their wheels sunk
in the soft sand-the big Savoia
Marchetti monoplane weighing
about three tons without it's fuel
load-and the landing gear was
broken.
They were rescued by Lieutenant
De Pecker and taken to Natal.
There they retired and later were
offered the Latecoere plane to con-
tinue flying to Rio De Janeiro, a
decision that later was cancelled.