Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-11-06
CRACK PILOT DIES
IN CRASH WITH
FOUR PASSENGERS
Charred Body of Floyd Cox
Found in Wreckage With
Hand on Controls.
ALL BUT ONE VICTIM
RESIDENTS OF CAPITAL
Express Was Making Special Land
ing to Discharge Passenger
at Camden, N. J.

| rive lives were IdkeI1 dS UOA VI LIE
first serious accident on any of the air
passenger lines operating out of the
National Capital when low-wing ex-
press monopiane of the Ludington Line,
en- route from New York to Washington,
crashed and was burned early last
night near Camden, N. j.
Floyd Cox, veteran pilot of the plane,
in which he recently broke all speed
records between the Capital and New
York, went to death fighting CALAMITY
to maintain his reeorS Of $500 flying
hours without accident, and was found
with his hands locked on the controls.
Four passengers, including another
veteran pilot of the line, died in the
cabin of the plane as it plowed into the
ground within sight Of Central Airport,
the Philadelphia terminal field, and
burst into flames.
List of Dead.
The dead are:
FLOYD Cox, SO years old, Alban Tower
Apartments. Wisconsin and Massachu-
sets avenues.
Vernon R. Lucas, 80 years odd, Lud-
ington Line pilot, travelling as a pas
senger, Oakcrest, Va.
Elmer Smith, IS years old, Harvard
Hall, 1850 Harvard street, advertising
manager of the Washington Herald and
Army combat pilot during the "orio
War. .
George B. Tayior, 54 years old, Copley
Courts, 1914 Seventeenth street, BAG
terioloeist and CHEF of the laboratories
of Chestnut Farms Dairy.
Francis r. Ehle, IS, Riverton, N. j.,
president of TIC international Re-
sistance Co., Philadelphia,
All but Ehle WGle coming TO WASH,
ington. Cox was making o speclal
landing at Camden to put Ehls OIL
when the crash occurred. Ordinarily
the plane, used In Commute nonstop
express service uetween New York and
washington, would have come straight
through to the Capital.
Cause of Cash Undetermined.
The cause Of the crash has not set
been determined Cox apparently was
preparing to make normal landing
and was not In trouble as Tar as Or
servers could tell. Of1cials of the De-
partment of commerce, Aeronautics
Branch, were no.lfied this morning oy
Chester A. Charles, supervising inspec.
tor of the district in which the plane
crashed, that he is investigating the
accident. His r=port gave no details
The following version Of the crech
was issued here today by Eugene Vidal,
vice president uf the line, on the basis
Inns, operations chief Of the system,
now engaged IL an investigation at
Philadelphia:
"Our information at this time is as
follc VS.: The plane was in perfect con-
dition when it departed from Newark
Airport. 1t left minutes late due to
a delay in consolidating two schedules.
The plane functioned perfectly on its
| trips that day and 1t made the distance
to Central Airport in schedule time.
Reports Everything Normal.
THE plane circled the airport to the
left, descended with thrcttled motor
and as it glided onto the airport, the
! pilot turned on the landing lights when
but few hundred feet from the edge
! of the field. What happened at this low
! height to cause the fall Is unknown.
Although the plane is fast, 1t has as
low a landing speed as most OF the
slower transport planes:
The weather was clear, no strcng
wind existed and up to the moment OF
| the crash everything was perfectly
normel and the actions of the pilot
: just as normal"
The plane struck, driving at an angle
/ of As degrees, in the grounds OF the
! Cooper River Parkway Country CLUB
! golf course, close by the boundary OF
/ the airport. The motor and propeller
/ were buried more than two feet in the
/ ground and the plane Immediately
burst into flames so violently that eye
witnesses described the fire as an ex-
! ploSion.
Eyewitnesses who ran to attempt
rescue Of the pilot and passengers were
driven back by the heat of the con-
fagration. The flaming craft at
! tracted thousands CT persons to the
scene. Members of the Pennsauken
Township Fire Department were among
the first to arrive and they played
water on the wreckage until it was sui.
flciently cool to permit, extraction OF
the charred bodies.
Coroner Melvin Kane of Camden,
who arrived soon after the crash, TOOK
charge Of the bodies, which were taken
70 Cooper Hospital, Camden, where an
inquest is to be held today.
Among the witnesses of the tragedy
Continued on Page 2, Column A.