Evening star., 1936-04-08


pressed the opinion today failure of |
the radio beam may have been re-
SponSible for the crash of the Sun |
Racer, but a Department of Com |
merce official said the radio of the |
plane itself may have been out of |
commission.
The radio beam is a message in i
code which indicates to the pilot |
whether he is on his course or to the |
right or the left.
New York officials of the company |
said their first reports indicated
faulty beam. A statement by Of
ficials in Pittsburgh said the same.
D. C. Vandewater of Pittsburgh, |
Bureau of Air Commerce inspector
for the first district, said checks on |
radio beams showed them functioning |
properly.
The statement of T. w. A. officials !
at Pittsburgh said:
When last reporting its position,
10 miles east of the Pittsburgh Air
port at 1000 am, Pilot Otto Ferguson
said the radio and other equipment
were IN perfect condition.
The crash occurred while the plane
was 80 miles south of Pittsburgh, of
its course. indicating the radio beam
was no longer functioning accurately"
Jack Frye, T. w. A. president, said
in New York another company plane
was delayed in landing at Pittsburgh
because Of interruption of the beam.
Beams Held Operating.
Commerce Department officials In
Washington issued a statement that
checks showed both beams into Pitts
burgh we're operating normally.
Checks with our monitory stations
along the route and with other planes
in fight at the time of the crash
prove that the operation of the beams
was normal at all times.
THE liner crossed the Pittsburgh
showing that the radio probably was
at fault.
ice forming on the radio antenna
of the plane while it was being brought
down in preparation for landing would
make it impossible for the pilot to
hear the beam signals and it is not
impossible that the weight Of the ice
broke the antenna
"A situation Of this kind would leave
the pilots stranded, unable to deter
mine their position or communicate
with their ground bases"
In New York, T. w. A. officials an
nounced they will appoint board to
investigate the crash.
Two pilots, two superintendents and
one or two other officials will consti-
tute the board. Similar boards make
| routine inquiries into every accident
to company ships.
The plane. which was demolished,
cost about s85 900. Insurance covered
most Of the cost, it was learned.
Miss Granger Heroine.
Miss Granger was the heroine of the
disaster. Although injured herself,
she stumbled miles through the under
brush to forest warden'S home.
There she telephoned the news and
insisted on going back to remain with
the two injured until help came
Hours later she told the story of how
the unsuspecting passengers hurtled
to their deaths.
The dead:
Charles H. Smith, II, Arnold, Pa,
student at Valley Forge Military
Academy.
D. o. August, II, Grove City, Pa,
Valley Forge student.
Stanley H. Bayersdorfer, vice presi-
dent of Hub Department Store, Steu-
benville, Ohio
Crawford Kelly, 18, McKeesport,
Pa, Valley Forge student
Robert G. Evans, 18, Wayne, Pa,
Valley Forge student.
Frank Hardinan, 260 Lexington ave-
nue., Jersey City, delegate to the union
ironworkers' convention in st. Louis.
John ONeill, $50 Lexington avenue,
Jersey City, also delegate.
G. B. Darcy, Park Central Hotel,
New York City.
G. w. Hefferman, 1884 Grand Con-
course, New York City.
Pilot Otto Ferguson, Kansas City.
Co-Pilot H. c. Lewis, Kansas City.
Time Set at 1920 AM.
Stopped watches on two of the dead
convinced Lieut.. George Pickering of
the highway patrol and Coroner S. A.
Baltz that the tragedy occurred at
1920 am. Ten minutes earlier Pilot
Ferguson, en- route from Newark, N. j.,
radioed he was flying through thick
weather by his instruments and would
not land at Pittsburgh.
Lieut. Pickering and other inveSti-
gators who reached the desolate noun
tainside miles from Uniontown soon
after Miss Changers report said the
big transport crashed with terrific
force.
One wing apparently was ripped off
by the limb of tree while the ship
skinned the hilltop. 1t hurtled on to
tear through a hundred yards of un-
derbrush and scattered pieces of
wreckage for hundreds of feet.
Part of the undercarriage appar-
emily was ripped of coming down
through the trees and the sun racer
skidded to its last resting place.
Flames broke out in the forward
part a few moments later and ate
away portion of the wreckage One
giant wing remained, however,
perched crafty over the charred fuse
lage.
Two boulders reared up from under
meath what had been the pilots seat
and other rocks were strewn about as
traps for the crippled liner.
The highest hills in the western
section Of the State are in that sec
ton, seven miles out from Union
town. Bad fogs are common, winds
always blow and the hilltcps rear