Imperial Valley press., 1936-09-06
RISK NECK s
I'm NATIONAL
AIR EVENTS
Opening Day Takes
Heavy Toll in
Life, Limb

LOS ANGELES, Sept. b.
(UP)-Speed pilots, racing
against a backdrop of death
and injury that marked the
bloodiest opening day in
national air race history, risked
their necks today in the most
perilous contests of all-the speed
dasheS.
Men and women pilots were
ready to dynamite their tiny rae
ing craft over treacherous and
10-mile courses as fast as power
full motors would permit. Speed
as high as 200 miles per hour was
expected in the Amelia Earhart
| trophy race for women; and 255
m. o. h. in the Shell trophy race
| for men, the two feature events.
A toll of one dead and four in
| jured, three critically, marred the
opening program which featured
! Louise Thaden's victory in the
/ $4,000 Bendix race from New
York.
The races had not opened for
mally when l.. C. Faulkner, San
Diego seaman making his 39th
parachute jump for $50 prize.
was dashed to his death before
$4,000 Mortified spectators. His
chute fouled so feet above the
earth, the fall swapping his neck.
Spectators were filing out Of
the stands hours later when word
reached the airfield that Benny
Howard, for whom many had wait
| ed, had crashed his Bendix racer
in New Mexico, seriously injuring
himself and wife. J
Nineteen parachute jumpers,
staging the final event, bailed out
of two transport planes $500 feet
up. All landed safely except John
Stockton, N. j. A gust of wind
caught his chute as his feet
touched the ground, hurting him
backwards. He suffered basal
skull fracture and was reported in
a grave condition.
Sets New Mark
i Miss Thaden, making her first
start in the Bendix race, set a
new womens east-west record OF
IA hours, 54 minutes, 49 seconds
in addition to winning $4500 first
prize money. Accompanying her
in her blue-green Beechcraft cabin
plane was Blanche Noyes. Buck
ing stiff headwinds most of the
way across, they and their four
rivals who finished also encoun-
tered rain and fog on the last
half of the route. The attractive
Wichita girl, who works for the
department of commerce checking
airport markers, gaSped her sur
prise when informed that she ap-
parently had won.
Her victory was assured when
Laura ingalls,, making it wom-
ans race for the first time in his
deadline for victory but crossed
the home marker in the second
best elapsed time of 15:39.26. 1t
was Miss Ingalls, record Of II
hours, So minutes that Miss Tha-
den broke in winning the race.
Miss ingalls, flew Lockheed Orion
and won $2,500
First to leave New York and
first to arrive but third in elapsed
time was William (BuSter) War
ner. chunky New York flyer, jock
eying a giant Vultee. His time
was 1545.52, and his share Of
the purse-$1, 500.
George Pomeroy of New York,
flying a big Douglas transport,
won fourth prize money of $1,000
with an elapsed time of 16:16.24.
Fifth and last came Amelia Ear
hart, the pre-race women's favor
ite, who required 16 hours, SO min
utes and 80 seconds to span the
2,800-mile route in her powerful :
Lockheed Electra Plying labor
atory."
A hatch cover blowing open and
whacking against the fuselage al
most spelled disaster for plane
and a parachute descent for Miss
Earhart and her companion, Helen
| Ritchie of Pittsburgh.
ut was a narrow squeak the
trans-Oceanic flyer related. THE
cover worked loose during the first
leg of the flight and for three
quarters of an hour we were In
a very serious predicament. We
were afraid the cover would tear
loose and hit the tail surfaces,
(f,optiuued IN Paoe q. Col n