Evening star., 1933-04-12
.G|RDER OF AKRON,
BROKEN IN CRASH,
WAS FACING REPAIR
Strengthening of Ship Was
to Have Started April 7,
Hearing Develops.
GALE AT SEA HINDERS
SEARCH FOR WRECKAGE
Naval Officers Hope High Seas May
Dislodge Some of 81 Bodies
Still Missing.
BY the Associated Press.

BY the Associated Press.
LAKEHURST, N. j., April 12.-Lieut.
Conner. Edwin F. Cochrane, assembly
and repair officer at the Naval Air Sta
ton, today testified at the naval hear
ing on the loss of the Akron that it had
been planned, on the ships return from
the last flight, to strengthen her struc-
ture in the area in which two of the
survivors said they saw two longitudinal
girders break. One of those girders was
to have been strengthened, he said.
The work was to have started April
Z, Cochrane said, and was to have COW
cred the area where Deal and Erwin,
the two enlisted men who were sur
vivors, said they saw girders break just
before the crash
Conferred With McCord.
Cochrane said longitudinal girders S,
6 and were involved in the repairs
that had been planned. Longitudinal
girder 7 was one of those that Deal
said he saw break
Cochrane said he had conferred with
Comdr. McCord, commander Of the
Akron, and the airship's first lieuten-
ant and engineer about the projected
repairs, before the last flight.
Have you any knowledge Of why
the alterations were ordered?" Coch-
rane was asked.
mo- SIR" he replied.
Lieut.. Comdr. Herbert v. Wiley, the
only surviving officer of the Akron,
who, designated at his own request an
interested party, has the right to ex-
anime witnesses, then asked Of Coch-
rane the first question he had put In
the hearing so far.
"As far as you know" he asked. was
the ship considered perfectly safe to
ny without this alteration?"
"Yes, STR" Cochrane replied.
Lieut.. Comdr. Wiley was recalled to
the stand as the inquiry entered its
third day.
Judge Advocate Pennoyer handed
Wiley list Of the missing and known
dead and asked him by whose authority
they had made the flight.
The commanding officer has author
ity to receive on board for flight any
naval ofncer," Wiley replied.
Civilians. he explained. must obtain
permission from the Navy Department
He then pointed out that, from Admiral
Moffett down, all the guests on board
the ship, with one exception. were Navy
personnel.
The single exception was Col. A. r.
Masury, an Army Reserve oficer, Wiley
said, and authorization for him to make
q flight had been made by the Navy
chief of operations last December.
AS for the crew." Wiley concluded,
mo comment Is needed"
Formally Entered Fleet.
Naval orders were introduced In evi-
dence disclosing that on April /, two
days before she crashed, the Akron had
been transferred from the experimental
and training status to the scouting
force of the United States Navy,
thereby becoming formally part Of the
feet.
Wiley's expression was very grave as
he went back to the stand. Outside
northeaster lashed the hangar with
driving rain, intensifying the gloom in
the narrow chamber temporarily con-
verted into court room.
After a technical discussion of the
testimony yesterday of Moody Erwin,
who said that while he was at the
half an hour before the crash, the
Akron was "tail-heavy" Wiley said:
Theoretically, if the inclination
passes an angle Of IL or l3 degrees, the
dynamic lift decreases and the ship
in common parlance, goes into a stall"
rs it possible" Pennoyer asked, that
the Akron found herself in stall and
crashed as result OF this rather than
descending column of air?"
1T may have been contributing
factor" Wiley replied, although can
not so state"
@. Are you still of the opinion that
1t was caused by descending column
Of air?
A. Yes, that's my opinion. There
might have been other contributing
factors-the loss of gas, the ship being
in a stall. A number of things might
have happened.
Possible Factors In Crash.
Wiley then listed as other possible
contributing factors in the crash
jammed elevator, damage to stabilizing
surfaces, breaking of the ships struc-
ture. and loss of lifting gas due to pull
ing of valve releases. He said there
was not sufficient rain to have caused
an emergency"
In reply to a question by Admiral
Butler, Wiley said again:
I'm my opinion the descent was
started by a downward current of air.
Whether any other influences came in.
then or later, cannot say"
The admiral asked If the Akron's
Continued on Page 2, Column g.
EATEN AC TWO