Henderson daily dispatch., 1937-02-08

seeing, just before the crash, smoke
issuing from the plane, while others
heard a whining, humming sound.
Short bursts of flames were also OBJ
served, yet the plane itself showed no
evidences of having burned. Wreck
age of the ship, which was recently
sold by the Troy Airport company, of
Troy, Ohio, to Conn, was strewn over
several acres Of farmland belonging
to Kinred S. Leonard. The gas tank,
some 800 yards from the ship, a radio
equipped, four-place 1885 Waco show
ed evidences of having exploded. It's
metal was ripped open from within.
A wing fell 200 yards from the ship,
While another was several hundred
yards further north. A Panama hat
was found a half-mile away.
Leonard reported he first noticed
the plane because of the peculiar
noise it was making. He said it
seemed as if the motor was missing
beats Then he heard a terrifically
loud explosion, followed by the break
irg of window-glass in his home.
Running out of the house, he said he
saw two bcdies-later identified as
those of Betz and Bree-wrapped al
most completely around tree trunk.
Later, it was observed that the two
bodies~had fallen from the plane APP
proximately 40 feet from the tree and
had either bounced or skidded over
that distance. A piece of skull bone
from one of the men broke window
in Leonard's home 60 feet distant.
The two men were observed, immedi-
ately before the crash, hanging on to
the bottom of the plane. The other
man and woman were found under
the wreckage.
Bill For Repairs
At Louisburg, persons who went to
the scene said bill was found in the
plane showing that $58 had been spent
in the last few days in repairing a
wing on the ship.
y Coroner r, A. Bobbitt declared the
accident was the worst he had ever
seen, No idea of how the victims
looks before the crash could be CLEAN
cd by viewing the bodies-so terribly
mangled, cut and broken were they.
The coroner estimated the ages of
all were between "a and 38.
The plane itself-or what remained
Of twas nothing more than a twist
ed, gnarled junk-heap lying on the
side, of a slight incline.
IT went through the World war,
but never saw anything asahorrible
as this" Edward F. Dement,, of 1901
Mangum street, Durham said, as he
viewed the victims. Dement,, who
was visiting in Louisburg, accompan-
led Coroner Bobbitt to the scene of
the crash and assisted in gathering
up the bodies for transfer to the Louis
burg morgue at the w. e. White fun
nture company store on Main street.
I'm telling you it is hard to picture
anything as horrible" the Durham
man said.
Dement, described the two bodies
that smashed against a big oak tree
in Leonard'se yard. One of the men,
he said, was still wearing head phones
leading to the belief that occupants
of the ship, realizing their predica-
nlent were attempting to learn by
radio where they might find an emer-
gency landing field. So great was
the impact of the other mans body
against the tree his belt was shattered
few inches long in several places.
The plane is understood to have
been flying from Miami, Fla, to Ak
ron, Ohio. It left the All-American
airport in Miami at $50 o'clock yes
terday morning, having been servic-
ed the night before. AS observed by
the wreckage, it appeared that Detz
| was plotting the, plane at the time of
| the accident.
Called Home
1t was said Conn, who had been
| connected with the automobile bust
| ness in metropolitan Miami for 10
years, had been called home on bust
ness. Mrs. Conn left last night from
| Miami by train for Akron with Mrs.
D. L. Breen and Mrs. C.. H. Betz,
| widows of two of the other victims.
Breen was vice-president of the Conn
Motor Sales Company of which Conn
! was president. Bretz was pilot and
proprietor of a small airplane with
| headquarters in suburban Barberton.
The body of Miss Danley was taken