Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-03-19
The New Jersey Disaster.

The many Investigations begun to
determine the cause and possibly to
fix the responsibility for the frightful
airplane accident in New Jersey on
Sunday may reveal facts that now are
only conjectures, and may lead to
greater precautions on the part of COM
mercial flyers who take up loads OF
paying passengers. But the chances
are that the cause of the accident Is
already apparent. The cause was a
mechanical failure before the plane had
attained the flying speed and altitude
which would have enabled the pilot to
correct the difficulty or pick his land
ing place to reach on a glide. That
same combination probably accounts
for more airplane accidents than any
other. The first few minutes OF flying,
from the time the propellers begin to
move the plane from a standing start,
are the most dangerous. There are
any number of cases where pilots have
saved themselves and their planes
when their motors went dead, provided
they have altitude enough to rnaneuver.
A notable case recently was when a
pilot, in the same type of plane that
figured In the New Jersey crash, found
himself with motors stalled over the
heart of Cleveland. His altitude en-
abled him to pick landing place and
glide to it without mishap.
In New Jersey the plane had just
left the ground. One wing motor may
have stopped, and In that case the
plane would have been swung around
toward the dead motor, unless the
speed of the plane was such that the
pilot could have counteracted the ef-
feet Of the dead motor by his rudders.
If both motors went dead, the pilot had
only one chance for salvation. That
was to go straight ahead. without try
ing to turn back toward the flying
field. This he evidently tried to do.
But he did not have the speed to avoid
a freight car on siding. Ten feet or
SO more altitude. and the pilot might
today be receiving laurels for his skill.
Those few feet were denied him and
there Is q different story to tell.
AS far as the investigations have gone,
they seem to show that the plane was
not overloaded. The load may have
been close to maximum, but nine times
out of ten that probably would have
made no difference. The motors we're
relatively new. The pilot had plenty
Of training and experience. There had
been the usual preliminary inspections,
and there was fuel enough for several
hours of flight. # both wing mo-
tors stopped dead, the obvious cause
was clogged gas lines. But that Is no
rare occurrence. and may or may not
be indicative of lax inspection Of the
motors.
Such accidents as this terrible tragedy
In New Jersey are the sad accompani-
ment of progress toward the ideal in
flying. But there is danger lest the
attitude toward air disasters becomes
a bit callous for that reason alone. 1t
is easy to say that accidents are to be
expected. One might even say that they
are necessary. There is, therefore, all
the more reason why every pilot and
every plane that takes the air should
have met, beforehand, the strictest
qualification demands that can be de-
vised. The aeronautic industry should
be the first to demand meticulous
and amending supervision and examina-
ton of all commercial flying projects.