Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-07-02
PILOT IS INJURED
ALOFT DURING GALE
Lieut.. C. F. Harper Is Cut on
Hands When "Stick" Jumps
Amidst Storm.

Blown like leaf IN the thunderstorm
which struck the National Capital late
Yesterday afternoon, Lieut.. 9. F. Har-
per of the Anacostia Naval Air Station,
had the controls of his plane torn out
of his hands three times receiving cuts
and bruises from the failing control
stick and being thrown around IN the
cockpit, and then was forced to run be-
fore the storm to Quantico, Va, before
he was able to land and escape the
fury of the wind.
Lieut.. Harper. with w. B. Cullins,
first-class photographer at the local
station. in the rear cockpit. took on
from Dahlgren Proving Gound, va. 1or
Washington in Navy observation plane
at o'clock yesterday afternoon.
1T could see the storm brewing, but
hoped to be able to outrun 1t and land
at Anacostia before it broke" Lieut..
Harper said. LAS the sky grew more
threatening I climbed to 5000 feet and
was within gliding distance OF Anacostla
when the storm broke. / was struck
bv the gale while flying over the west
bank of the Potomac River between
Alexandria and Washington-Ho Hoover
Airport.
Flies On to Quantico.
81 have heard of people who had the
controls torn from their hands by
STORM QuTSDS. UuG llSNCL LldNc CApChi-
enced anything like Yesterdays storm
in all my Navy flying career. The stick
was whipped out of my hands three
times and could do nothing but hang
on to the ship with both hands. MY
knee was cut, and I was bruised and
badly beaten about.
Realizing that it was out of the ques-
ton even to attempt landing at Ana
costa. Lieut. Harper finally worked his
Y11a storm
center and raced the storm to Quantico
where he landed on the Marine Corps
aviation field and got his plane into
hangar Just before the storm struck
there. He was forced to wait two
hours before the storm subsidized enough
for him to come back to Washington.
Cant. Eaker Blown by Storm.
Though he missed the worst Of the
storm center. Capt. Ira G. Eaker, Army
Air Corps. also had brush with tbs
gale and as a result lacked only three
minutes of the time required to eStab-
lish a new speed record between New
York and Washington. Flying low
wing Army pursuit transport plane,
Capt. Eaker left Mitchell Field, N. Y,
late yesterday afternoon and few to
Washington through stormy skies which
covered most of his route. He landed
L
ing New York, just after the worst Of
the storm had passed.
The regular airmail shuttle plane got
away from Boiling Field on schedule at
$50 o'clock yesterday evening just as
the storm was clearing and was flown
without incident to New York. c. G.
Taliaferro was at the controls.
Passenger Planes Safe.
Passenger planes on all Of the trans
port lines operating out of Washing
ton we're reported safe. Weather warn
ings we're given the pilots in time for
them to get down at regular fields be-
fore the gale struck, it was stated at
Washington Hoover Airport.
Lieut. Harper, who was the only pilot
to experience the full force Of the
storm, was leader of the Navy relief
expedition to Santo Domingo last year.
He is Photographic officer at Anacostia,
and has just completed motion pic
ture review of naval aviation activities
which has entailed several thousand
miles of flying.