The Washington times., 1931-11-06
MELTED ME- 7 Al
ONLY REMAINS
Of WRECK i
Witness Says Victims Died
Screaming and Trying
to Beat Way Out
Continued From First PGge)
Of fire that lighted the whole
ekvO

Of fire that lighted the whole
sky"
John jeanette, station master
at Central Airport, was another
witness to the crash. He said:
81 went out in the field just
as 1t was getting dark. I heard
\ motors, and there she was-On
time and apparently Ship-Shape
coming in from the north.
"The pilot circled the field to
come into the wind for land
ing. At the southern end Of
the field he started to swing
around into the wind. Then 1t
happened.
'Tt looked to me like the
plane Just stalled second and
then flOated down to earth"
Co.'s Wife Collapses
The tragedy brought cruel suf-
fering to relatives of the dead
pilots and passengers.
Mrs. Evelyn Cox collapsed in
hysteria when the news was
brought to her at Washington
Airport. where she drove in her
car to meet her flying husband.
Mrs. Ehle received the news at
Camden, where, with their two
children, she waited at the air
port to bring Mr.. Ehle home to
dinner. The express plane usually
does not stop at Camden, but
made the port last night at Ehle's
request.
Lucas went on the fatal trip
through a coincidence. He was
supposed to pilot a later plane out
of Newark, then report for a new
Job early today at the lines
Washington airport.
Made Trade of Jobs
But Just before Cox took off,
Lucas found a pilot off-duty had
wandered onto the field. He read.
fly agreed to take out the later
plane, and Lucas obtained special
permission from his Superiors TO
"deadhead" it home in the plane
that took him to his death.
Mr.. Smith has been advertising
head Of The Herald since last Feb
ruary. He is survived by a widow
and son in Boston.
Pilot Lucas is survived by a
widow and four children. 1t was
he who made the heroic though
unsuccessful race against death a
week ago, carrying a dying 3-year-
old girl, Marjorie Cohen, to sur
geons in Philadelphia
Company Probes Mishap
The Ludington Air, Line, Inc,
which until last night boasted
10000 trips on the New York
Washington route, without acci-
dent, launched an investigation
Immediately.
Gene Vidal, vice president, said
the ship was of the latest design
and had performed splendidly.
He added:
"InfOrmstion already obtained
indicates that the fire did not
start while the plane was in
the air."
Later the following official
statement was issued:
"The plane was in excellent
condition when it departed
from Newark airport. 1t left
eight minutes late due to a
delay in consolidating time
schedules. The plane func-
toned perfectly on its trips
that day and it made the dis
tance to Central Airport (Cam.
DEM in scheduled time.
Cause of Fall Unknown
"The plane circIed the air
port to the left, descended with
thrOttled-back motor and as It
gIsded onto the airport the pilot
turned on the landing light
when but a few hundred feet
from the edge of the field.
What happened at this low
height to cause the fall is un.
known. Although the plane is
fast, it has as slow a landing
speed as the slower transport
planes.
''The weather was clear. No
strong winds existed and up
to the moment of the crash
everything was perfectly nor
NAL and the actions of the pilot
just as normal"
Died Gripping Cont !'ols
Pilot Cox died at his seat with
the controls gripped in his hands.
The otl.er bodies wern heaped in
the cabin.
AS the plane nosed over, for
no explained reason. the pilot
seemed to succeed in righting it.
Then it dove quickly to the
ground.
Highways were jammed with
motorists attracted by the blaz.
ing wreckage, but they were
forced to remain many yards
away by the fierce heat.
Hopeless, Says Coroner
The Camden coroner who was
called to the scene soon after the
bodies were reached, said:
"The condition of the wreck.
age makes it useless to attempt
TO determine the cause of the
crash"
DR.. Alexander s. Ross, of Cooper
Hospital, Camden, said three of
the five victims had fractured
skulls, leading him to the belief
they were rendered unconscious
instantly.
Officials of the Ludington Line
s .aa..inA ,.aSan,.kc uYhich said cries