Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-10-06

Continued From First Page.)
the results of their preliminary exam
nation.
Gendarmes continued to scrutinize
the debris of all sorts which strewed the
scene and one discovered a big watch
whose hour was marked at 10 minutes
past 2, possible indication of the
exact time of the disaster.
The R-101 was seven hours out of
Cardington when the crash occurred.
After hours of fighting the violent storm
which ragged over Northwest France
Sunday morning. the dirigible lost alti-
tude, and sometime after 2 am. failed
to rise above an encircling rim OF hills
about a valley south of here.
H. J. Leach, engineer of the Royal
Airship Works and pilot of the ship at
the time, gave the most coherent ac-
count of the tragedy: I'VE got into a
terrific storm with high winds and the
dirigible simply would not rise. gave
her more gas TO get her up into the
air. but she did not respond.
Rain was falling in such torrents
that our ship was blown down TO earth.
She bumped twice slightly and then
with a terrific impact she buried her
nose into the ground. Immediately there
came a tremendous explosion, followed
by two lesser ones, and flames engulfed
the airship.
IT was shot outside my pilot window
do not know how-and found myself
on the ground. At the moment of the
catastrophe everybody aboard except
myself and assistant navigators was
asleep. The motors were turning to
perfection. 1t was the tempest which
caused our destruction
Villagers Are Reused.
Residents about Beauvais were awak-
ened first by the motors of the ship as 1t
passed low over their heads, perhaps 400
or so feet high. Many remarked that
the pilot did not seem in absolute con-
troll of the ship; that it wobbled I'M
necessarily and did not seem to respond
/ to his handling
The shock of the explosion which fol-
| followed the impact with the hillside
shook the country for miles around.
! The peasants thereabout, unmindful Of
/ the torrential rain and wind, ran across
muddy fields and through woods to the
/ spot, where pillars Of fire rose into the
skies and illumined vast area there
about.
The heat stopped them dead con-
! siderable distance away. Much nearer
! the flames they could see men running
about frantically Attempting to break
their comrades of the flight were i'm
prisoned, one man could be seen at a
window with a spanner in his hand
attempting to break through and out.
The right hand of one of the bodies
recovered afterward. and unidentified,
held a spanner tightly.
Daybreak Aids Rescue.
BY daybreak the fire had settled suffi-
GENTLY TO allow rescue measures to pro-
coed, but there was no hope of finding
any one alive on the ship. Metal grid
ers had to be sawed through to get at
some of the bodies which were taken
out and laid in a dell not far away,
covered by sheets furnished by the
peasants and tagged according to posi-
ton in the dirigible with the hope that
this would aid in identification
1t was noon before all the bodies We: e
recovered. The bodies later in the day
were taken to Allonne, a village near
here, and placed in an impromptu
chapel The peasants came with flowers
and kindly Frenchmen found several
Union Jacks to adorn the walls and
make fitting temporary resting place
for the remains
LIE Bourget, French airdrome. had a
graphic account of its own of the ILL
fated trip to tell From the start OF
the voyage at 7:30 pm. G:30 pm
Eastern standard time) Saturday the
radio station there was in contact with
the dirigib'e At I:5O am. Sunday
the dirigible asked its position and
ascertained 1t was about half mile
south OF Beauvais.
Had Enjoyed Dinner.
A message was then sent that al
that moment the passengers, after en-
joying an excellent dinner and smoking
many cigars, were preparing TO go tc
bed. The R-10l, due to extensive fire.
PROBING. is the first lighter-than-aii
craft on which smoking has been per-
mitted 1t was a few minutes after
this message that the end came.
An eye witness account of the airshir
disaster follows
The first intimation Of the disaster
was a formidable report which I frs
took for a thunderclap. A few minutes
later ] and some neighbors we're or
the scene. The airship had fasen into
an orchard on top of some apple trees
oh, what a terrible sight met our eyes
The flames were rising skyward and II
vain firemen played hose on the blazins
ship.
We could see bodies in the cabin.
which seemed to be twisted like chunks
, Of burned cheese. We were able to say,
! one man who was alone in the forwart
4 cabin. At the present moment he
walking about Besuvais with thre
others, all of whom were Nightly in
iured. Later we drew frightkily burne'
= bodies out of the wreckage. 1t wa
an appalling sight"