New Britain herald., 1929-09-18
NIGHT MAIL PILOT
 KILLED IN BERLIN
Continued From First Page)

when residents of Berlin heard a plane flying over the town at an ex- tremely low altitude. This was shortly after o'clock.
 When he encountered stiff fog l bank a s he almost reached Meriden, it is thought by Deputy State Air l Commissioner Harry W. Generous, who arrived at Lamentation moun- | tain within three quarters of an hour after the fatality, Tallman had | turned back. It was while he was flying back towards the Hartford 1 airport that the crash occurred, 1 high on the mountain and about 1 three quarters Of a mile from the Meriden-New Britain road.
 Estimates by people who heard the resulting explosions place the 1 time at about 9:15 o'clock.
 "I heard a plane flying low over my house few minutes ago, and it woke me up when l was sleeping | one eyewitness 10 the crash said. 1 Then l looked out of my bedroom window. l saw the whole side of the mountain light up. Then there | was d crash"
 An East Berlin farmer. II. A. i Bartram. was the first man to reach i the wrecked ship after it had crash l ed against the mountain just above 1 the farm land owned by Alexander l Bruce. He found that the aviator's s | tody had been thrown clear of the | plane. but that the flames from the | burning gasoline and mail were lap ping at the dead mans feet. Others | living in the neighborhood were swift to follow MT. Bartram, includ- | ing Mir. Bruce and Harold Bruce, | but the intense heat of the burning i ship made it impossible for the 1 body to be drawn out of the reach 1 Of the flames. Tallman's left foot was burned off, as well as the fin gers on his left hand. Entirely nude except for one shoe. giving mute l evidence Of how the flames had shot over hlm and burned his clothing, 1 Tallman, burned and Charred in many places lay by the wreckage of his ship until Dr. NJ. II. Griswold, | the medical examiner, could reach | the scene of the wreck
 Skull Fractured
 A small hole in the aviator's fore | head received at the time of the crash when he was hurled violently against the forward part Of the cockpit, caused the examiner to pro nounce death came instantaneously as the result of a fractured skull
 Among the first to visit the scene of the mountain tragedy was | young man and a girl, who had stopped their car on the state road when they saw the flash and heard the roar of the exploding gasoline. i She tainted. Later a number Of women visited the mountain.
 Chief among the Weighty articles in the mail which Tallman was fly | ing to New York were expensive gears sent by the L. and H. Aircraft corporation and circulars advertising | the Eastern States exposition at l Springfield, it was learned from | clerks who assisted in loading the | plane, and who came to New Brit ain early this morning. They too were of the opinion that the plane was almost overloaded when it took off from the Hartford field.
 C. l.. Wright and Deputy State Air Commissioner Generous arrived at the mountain within three quarters of an hour after the crash happen 1 cd. At Hartford Sergeant Berg oi 1 the Colonial Air Transport company, uneasy about the fate of the pilot ! remained at the field for a few minutes after the takeoff so that he would be on hand in case Tallman 1 returned. Instead of a returning pilot, he received news, telephoned 10 the Hartford airport by New | Britain police, that the mail plane ] had crashed into the side of the mountain. Immediately he got in touch with the state official who came to the field.
 Atmosphere Thick
 In q short statement made to a few members of the press, Deputy i Commissioner Generous said that | Tallman had been warned by his | pilot friends as well as the weather man at Hartford that the flight last evening would be extremely danger l ous. While 2,500 foot ceiling was reported at Hadley field, yet between | Hartford and the New York airport l the weather was extremely thick. | Experienced as he was in flying through fogs and mists in the Great | Lakes region Tallman told his friends at Hartford that he could take the ship through.
 Souvenir Hunters Active
 t'ntil early this morning the little r"rOlro remaining in the tank of the ship burned like a beacon on I.-.u,H,-ti lion mountain. Throngs Of | curious soon filled the woods sur rounding the completely dem molished plane. Parts of the plane were taken away as souvenirs, one man carrying the stern light. It is also l thought that one of the early visit ors to the scene of the tragedy took with him a box containing gears.
 The Meriden- New Britain bus was almost opposite tse scene of the ac- cident when passengers saw the | bright flames on the mountain and heard the explosions.
 Postal Inspector F. A. Courger of | Hartford claims that there is no way of determining the value of the car go Of mail. The district manager of ! the Colonial Air Transport was also ! quick 10 arrive last night, as were two state policemen who kept the 1 gathering crowd at a safe distance from the burning gasoline tank.
 Pilot In World War
 Henry H. Tallman was born in ! FairlaWn, N. J., and during the 1 World war he served as a pilot. Re- turning 10 civilian life, he became a ! commercial aviator and had more than 5000 hours in the air when he succeeded Edward C. Darlington last January 22. February 19 of this year Tallman had his first eX- perience with New England winters