Evening star., 1933-04-11
WILEY LAUDS WORK.
OF ALL ON AKRON
Declares Any Errors Made
Were Beyond Experience
Existing Today.
Continued From First Page0

ne mQlCdteQ, CuCln8 OF the pTOpeller'
would perhaps have done more harm
than good, since it took As seconds tx
tilt them and during that period there
the motors.
As Wiley returned to the stand tht
discussion was resumed Of the weather
the night of the Akron's last flight
Were you able to determine YOU
position after you went aloft? Pen
noyer asked.
mo" wiley replied, mot after 8:3(
or Gas, because fog obscured the
ground"
Position Known.
Wiley added, however, that the posi-
ton of the Akron was known to hel
officers within degree Of accuracy Of
20 miles"
II know this to be true" he said
because when I was In the water
hAd the idea We were near Barnegat
Light, which later proved to be more VI
less correct"
what In your opinion caused the
ship to descend 50 suddenly the second
timer" Penncyer asked.
1T was undoubtedly . down current
Of air." Wiley replied.
When the ship was falling so rapidly
the second time" Pennoyer asked, do
you know If any effort was made to use
the swiveling propeners?"
Il do not believe so," Wiley replied,
though I cannot be positive"
Wiley then explained that It would
take about IS seconds to tilt the pro-
pellers and that during that time the
ship would lose dynamic lift.
The AkronS propellers, the only ex-
posed part Of her motors, were adjust
able-so that they could be tilted down.
ward for lifting power
Returning to q discussion Of the
electrical storm surrounding the Akron
when she went down, Wiley sadd he
believed the airship might have been
struck by lightning without being
damaged. He said he believed she would
react to lightning as cloud would,
gathering on its surface static e!ec-
tricity and discharging 1t.
In answer to questions by Pennoyer,
Wiley said that previous damage to the
Akron had not weakened her structure
and that repairs had been made salts
factorily
Pennoyer asked about the sharp
ship, but which he did not feel through
the control cabin window.
Wiley said he had decided It was not
. gust Of air which shook the ship.
II am now Of the opinion" he said
that this shock was caused by the
stern of the airship hitting the water
Unusual Sensation.
II base this conclusion on the fol-
lowing po'.ats:
II did :lot feel any wind blow through
the control car. The feel of the shock
was different from any had ever ex-
perienced before, and, Of course, having
experienced number Of gusts of wind,
I was puzzled.
ALSO, when I spoke Of an altitude
Of 500 feet at about that time, I said
I could not place the report accurately
chronologica1ly. What I meant was I
did not know when the stern hit the
water and could not reconcile my i'm
pressions."
After the rudder control broke, +"
Wiley added, 'it meant to me that the
ship had broken In two.
Il waited for the shock when the
stern would hit the water. It never
came"
Another basis for his conclusion,
Wiley said. was that Deal and Erwin,
the two surviving enlisted men, both
had reported to him they saw the
girders amidship had buckled.
Virtually Standing Stin.
Furthermore, he went on, he had
noticed a second before the crash that
the ships ground speed was almost
neglie1ble-the ship was virtually stand
ing still.
Then, too, he pointed out, the lower
rudder controls had been the first to
carry away and the lower r1dder natu-
rally would be the first part Of the tail
surfaces to be immersed.
Still another basis for his conclusion
was the fact that he learned the chief
petty ofdcer had shouted the order Eall
hands forward" Just before the control
car crashed. Whether he saw the
water or not do not know" Wiley
said.
IF 1t were possible for me to tie in
ologically the report Of the alti-
tude OF 300 feet, better report would
come forth"
Wiley added that the barometer
might have dropped enough in the
storm center so that the Akron's alti-
meter might have been "250 feet in
error"
Pennoyer asked Wiley if he had sua-
gested to Capt. McCord his personal be-
lief that westward course, rather than
the easterly course McCord ordered,
would take them out Of the storm. He
said he had.
Asked About mistake"
He was next asked about q mistake"
ne mentioned yesterday by which the
course OF the ship was changed so de-
grees instead of Is.
The course was los, and the cap
tain ordered a change is degrees to
the left" Wiley said, "A little later
left he told me, and his order was mis-
interpreted as SO degrees"
Wiley said he believed the 50-degree
change was satisfactory" and that 1t
had taken the ship away from the
lightning.
I'm my opinion" he added, ''the mis-
take had no bearing on later events.
although It might have had"
After q moments pause, Wiley added,
raising his voice slightly:
1T was immaterial"
Quizzed ON Safety Equipment.
The questioning next turned to the
Akron's safety equipment.
WAS the Akron fitted with lifeboats
or rafts?" he was asked.
THE Akron carried one air-inflated
life raft" he replied, with a capacity.
I think. Of IA persons. All the pillows.
mattresses and sleeping bags were suit
able Tor f1otation and were considered
such equipment"
Q.-"Were life preservers carried in
addition?"
Al am not sure we habitually
carried life preServers. Sometimes
when we went over the sea we carried
them, as have seen them under my
bunk"
II am not sure they were aboard
on this trip, but I consider pillows.
mattresses and the like were sufficient
for that purpose"
After the radio antenna was hauled
in was 1t possible to receive weather
reports?"
al, .iocJ &k