The Waterbury Democrat., 1936-01-15

m. The pilot hau inspected HIS plane and judged her in first class condition. Her next scheduled stop was Little Rock. capital of Arkan- sas. She was flying over the flat Arkansas swamp and rich farm land adjacent to the Mississippi. At least four emergency landing fields were available in the immediate vicinity. Fifteen minutes after leaving Memphis, Co-Pilot Freeland radioed.
 "Twenty-fiv miles west of Mem- phis. Flying 5000 feet. Scattered clouds at 4,5oO feet Temperature 55."
 "okay," said the Memphis opera tor.
 Minutes passed and stretched into half hour. Memphis expected another report from the southerner. None came. Memphis sent an in uuiring call. No answer. Memphis was not alarmed until an hour later, when Little Rock reported the Southerner overdue. The air be- came charged instantly with mes- sages directed at the Southerner. No answer.
 Farmer Heard Crash
 As well as comparative times could be established, George Jones, a farmer living two miles north ot Goodwin and mile from the swamp where the wreckage was found, heard an airplane over his home 45 minutes after "The South erner" told Memphis that all was well. Suddenly, as Jones listened he had thought the plane flying unusually Iowa motor sputtered and quit. An instant later he heard heavy crash.
 Goodwin is IS miles west-south- west of Forrest City and Forrest City is 40 miles on the same line from Memphis. Jones news, telephoned to the Memphis airport, mustered several score men from Forrest City, Goodwin and the countryside. Soon more scores arrived from Memphis and soon the searching parties had scattered and were slush-slushing through the dank and oozing swamp lands.
 Searchers Find Wreck
 Soon after 1 a. m., the search lights of the searchers picked out the wreckage of the Southerner. The cabin had been smashed and partly buried in rancid swamp water and mud. Light through the broken port holes revealed blood-gruesomeness indescribable. Bodies were found scattered about. Wreckage of the plane circled the cabin for two hun dred yards around. One motor had been smashed back into the plane. Another was hundred yards away, buried in ooze.
 The rescuers plodded back through the swamp, water and murk often knee deep, to the road where farm CTS were waiting with wagons and mules which were led back to the bodies to the road, where they were scene. These were used to carry the placed in ambulances and sent to Forrest City.
 Airline authorities and air trans port experts were at loss to ex- plain the crash. If one motor had failed, they said, Pilot Marshal sure- ly could have kept his ship in the air. If both had failed, emergency fields were available. Excited rumors of sabotage were heard at Memphis airport, but these were discounted. Relatives Gather The curious and relatives of the victims began gathering at the com- pany's airports along the line soon after news of the crash spread. The plane left Newark at 12:30 p. m. Tuesday. It made stops at Philadel- phia, Washington, Nashville and Memphis. Its scheduled stops there after were Little Rock, Dallas, Fort Worth, and thence by several stops to Los Angeles. The crew aboard her had taken charge at Memphis and were to have relinquished coF1- mand ct Fort Worth.
 No One Saw Crash No one saw the crash, though q number of persons heard her engines droning overhead. Goodwin, being on the main line or the Rock Island