Evening star., 1929-12-21


flight and then Capt. Dinger began a
turn, which most of the eyewitneSseS
characterized as normal"
Accounts Of Tragedy Differ.
From this point on the accounts
differ as to the lightning swift details
the descriptions Of the accident, how
ever, indicates that the plane never
came out of the turn, but proceeded
from the turn into dive, terminating
almost instantly in q violent crash.
AS to the character of the turn itself
the accounts differ. Pvt. Harry Rock
enbaugh, who pulled the chocks from
under the planes wheels when the or
der to clear was given, voiced the
opinion that the turn was quite sharp,
with the plane banked Steeply.
Lieut.. Leland s. Stranathan. assist
ant operations officer at the field, de-
Scribed the turn as rather wide. as did
Lieut.. Louis M. Merrick. operations OFF,
GER. All three men, however, were sure
that the turn was normal and gave no
indication OF any trouble.
Instead Of Strengthening out Of the
turn into level flight, however, the nose
OF the plane continued to drop. Some
of the eyewitnesses say that the plane
then twisted slightly to the right; 9TH
ers that 1t continued In o smooth curve
while others say there was indication of
the beginning of a spin, never fully de-
veloped because of the closenesS to the
ground.
Engines Believed Running.
No one, apparently, noticed any sign
Of engine failure in any of the three
big motors and 1t Is thought that all
three motors were running when the
crash came. Some of the eyewitnesses
believe that the plane struck the
ground nose first, others say that the
right wing hit slightly in advance of
struck so violently that the effect was
almost like an explosion.
The three holes made by the II otorS
apparently bear out testimony that the
wing hit in advance OF the motor
though there was no pronounced wing
scar III the partially frozen ground.
The right motor was buried several feet
in the ground, the center engine was
approximately flush with the surface
of the earth, while the left motor made
only a shallow hole, from which 1t ap-
peared to have rebounded.
The front half of the fuselage and
the big plywood wings were reduced to
a tangled mass Of Splinters piled deeply
over the motors. All of the bodies re-
mained in the plane, none Of them
being thrown clear as the fuselage burst
apart. All the dead were injured about
the head, according to soldiers who
had been pitched headlong when the
plane struck. A safety belt, snapped
from its fasteningS, was found as evi-
dence to the inability Of these safety ap-
pliances to hold the three passengers
In the big cabin In their places.
Bingham Makes Investigation.
F.. Trubee Dawson, Assistant Secre-
tary Of War for Aeronautics, a personal
friend Of Representative Kaynor, and
Senator Hiram Bingham Of Connecticut,
president Of the National Aeronautic
Association and wartime pilot. made
personal Investigations OF the crash.
Senator Bingham, after his per-
sonal inquiry, said: "I regard the
plane as the safest ever built. The
pilot was one OF the best in the service
Those who saw the take-oR say 1t was
normal. Yet, suddenly, without motor
or structural failure, the machine went
into q nose dive.
"The Fokker plane Is constructed to
guard against spin, but the machine
had only reached an altitude of 300
feet and there was not room for 1t to
right itself. They were climbing and
1t was very susty. It might be that
something happened to the pilot--that
he tainted. It might be that an un-
usual gust Of wind struck the nose OF
the plane.
"I feel that everything was done that
should have been done. It tS very un-
fortunate that there is no clear idea
of what happened and there probably
! never will be since all in the plane
were killed.
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