Evening star., 1934-01-14
DISASTER STALKS
BYRD EXPEDITION
Plane, on Broken Ice Floe,
Seriously Damaged, Re-
vising Program.
BY DIR. LINCOLN ELLSWORTH.

BY DIR. LINCOLN ELLSWORTH.
BAY OF WHALES, Antarctica, jan
uary 13 CBy Wireless).-We have had
Q narrow escape from complete disaster.
The shelf ice broke up suddenly and
cast our ship, the Wyatt carp, adrift
and the skis Of our plane, the Polar
Star, slipped through g. crack in the ice.
The wings held the plane from sink
ing and after six hours strenuous toll
10 of the crew, under direction Of Bernt
Balchen, hauled the machine back onto
the surface of the ice, where she now
rests in normal position on skis and
tailskidS.
The irregulariy shaped piece Of ice
on which the plane rests Is not more
than 20 yards long, but 1t Is from IA
to IS feet thick and easily bears the
weight of the plane. The location OF
the spot where 1t lies is about ! mile
inside the seaward edge Of the broken
1oe.
Plane Damage Serious.
The amount Of damage to the plane;
In which Balchen and I have planned
Q 3,000-mile flight, nonstop, to the
Wedden Sea and return, cannot yet De
estimated Even now there Is no Ger.
tainty of rescuing the plane. One OF
the skis is fractured. the leading edge
of one wing is dented and one aileron
Is broken. It Is doubtful whether these
parts can be repaired on the ship. 1t
will not be until we can get the ma
chine on board the Wyatt carp that
we can determine the extent OF the
damage.
Fortunately the engine was not I'M
mersed and the speedy removal OF the
propeller saved that.
All the men are safely back on board.
The Wyatt carp Is undamaged. The
mooring gear has been rescued. Float
ing on a separate piece OF ice Is our
little automobile. the only thing besides
the airplane which has not been hauled
on deck.
A smart breeze from the northeast
has worked up a considerable swell IN
the Bay Of Whales and until 1t sub
sides it will not be possible to push
the Wyatt carp through the heavy foes
and rescue the Polar Bear. But the
swell can't last long and we still have
hope of getting the plane on board.
Ice Break Is Sudden.
The breaking of the ice occurred with
dramatic suddenness. It sounded like
the booming Of heavy cannon. No
sooner had one small piece broken on
the edge than an area Of ! mile ex-
tending across the bay was rent
asunder. The ice split lengthways,
section after section, and in less than
half an hour the swell had broken one
long, narrow section into pieces few
yards long on either side.
The foes directly between the ship
and the plane Immediately separated,
so it was impossible for the men to
cross from one to another. It was nee
essary to move the Wyatt carp mile
leeward down the bay before they could
debark on the ice and make their way
to the plane Even so, it was only with
the aid OF long planks which they car
ried on their shoulders and used to
span the cracks that they were able to
cross from one heaving foe to another.
The night before the plane had been
removed some distance from the edge
Of the ice. Immediately after the ice
broke the plane rested on a fairly large
section, but before the men could reach
It the ice had parted directly beneath
one of the skis, and the machine
slipped sideways into the crack. Then,
as the foes heaved and worked with
the pressure Of the sea, one big section
Of ice was forced from the tail of the
plane toward the nose, gripping the
skis as if in a wise and exerting tre-
mendous strain On the right wing.
Machine Stands Force.
A tube and fabric machine would
have been crushed Immediately But
the stream-lined metal section of our
ship proved its tremendous strength
and took the weight of the plane.
As the foe crushed in, the whole
plane was slowly forced up from the
viselike grip Of the ice.
BY noon the men had tackled fast to
the tail skid. AS the ice pressed for
finally the machine slipped out on an
even keel. She was drawn to the cen
ter Of the ice, and there she stands.
Nothing more can be done until the
Wyatt carp reaches her.
1t was with difficulty and no little
danger that the men came over the
restless blocks of Ice to the outer edge,
where with much maneuver1ng they
were finally able to climb aboard the
Wyatt carp.
Chief Mate Olsen. one Of the first to
be on the Wyatt carp to help In res
cutng the plane and among the first to
clamor skillfully back aboard the ship,
went to the aid of the wireless oper-
ator, Walter Lanz, who was at the
wheel. AS the ship backed the rudder
came into contact with the ice. The
wheels spun rapidly and Olsen's fore
arm was caught in the spokes. as was
Balchens' few days ago. The three
spoke handles were snapped OF against
OlSens muscular arm. Fortunately, he
was not much hurt and can still attend
to his duties.
Until the plane Is rescued and the
extent OF the damage determined, it Is
impossible to say what INV next move
will be.
(Copyright, 1884, by North American News.
paper Alliance and the New York Times)