Evening star., 1933-10-11
i. s. PROBES SEVEN
DEATHS /, PLANE
Charred Wreckage Searched
for Clue to Accident in
Indiana.
BY the Associated Press.

BY the Associated Press.
CHESTERTON, Ind. October IL
The loss of seven lives in the wrecking
last night of twin motor airplane was
under inquiry today by government
acronautical inspectors. while air line
officials explored the scattered wreck
age for some clue to the cause Of the
tragedy.
1t was IL hours after the great ship
plunged to earth and burst into roar
ing furnace before the last two bodies
were found. They had been thrown $50
yards from the cabin section, near the
broken tail of the plane.
The dead were:
Pilot Harold R. Tarrant. Oak Park, Ill
Co-Pilot A. T. Ruby. Oak Park.
Miss Alice Scribner, Chicago stew
ardeSs
Fred Schendorf. Chicago.
E. Smith. Chicago.
Warren F. Burris. Columbus, Ohio,
radio service employe of the line
Dorothy Dwyer, Arlington, Mass.
Doubt Reports of Blast.
United Air Line officials doubted the
accuracy of the reports of some wit
nesseS that the plane first exploded in
air. then Zoomed l 900 feet to earth
, with one motor still running. 1t was
their belief. after inspecting the ruins.
that the ship drove into a hillside and
then exploded The major portion of
the wreck was found burning on the
, side of hill near road. The great
balloon tires of the undercarriage were
hanging in tree.
Y& fata
Sengers since United Air Lines adopted
multimotored planes five years ago. and
the first in 4O,0OO,00O miles of flight
with this type of ship. The plane,
which fell few moments after the pilot
had radioed All we'll on its flight from
New York to Chicago, was one of the
new w-winged monoplanes capable OF
| a top speed of three miles minute.
On Way to Be Married.
Miss Dvyer was on her way from her
Massachusetts home to Reno, New.
wnere she was to have been married
this afternoon to Theodore BALDWIN,
former Boston stock market operator.
The scene of the wreck was visited
today by B. NJ Jacobs. United States
Department of Commerce aeronautical
inspector and E. p Lott vice president
of the National Air Transport Division.
Five of the bodies were recovered last
night. but none was taken out alive,
as the heat of the flames kept back
farmers who flocked to the scene They
said they saw the victims milling
around on the inside Of the cabin, un-
able to save themselves. Some said they
even heard their screams.
The scene Of the crash was wooded
patch on the farm of James Smiley
in the Indiana Sand Dune region.
! within a few feet Of a gravel road. The
explosion brought scores of nearby. res
identS to their doors and many OF them
saw the blazing plane hurtle earthward
with its human cargo.
Miss Esther Stroup, teacher living
, at the Smiley farm, said the blast was
followed by flash in the sky With
others, she ran across fields to the
burning wreckage, where they stood
powerless to help
Heard Throb of Motor.
Others estimated the ship was about
| 900 feet up at the time. and one wit
ness said he could hear the throbbing
of the motor as it fell. leading officials
to believe one of the motors or gaso-
line tanks may have exploded and that
Pilot Tarrant was attempting desper-
ately to make landing. His body was
thrown about so feet from the main
part of the plane and his face was
badly burned.
Some of the other bodies were
charred almost beyond recognition. and
it was almost impossible to identify
them. Among the ruins was found a
badly burned log book, which officials
held for formal investigation.
Chicago offices of the air lines said
Miss Scribner was the first stewardess
to lose her life in plane crash and $50