Evening star., 1938-03-02
Pictures on Page A-3.)

By the Associated Press.
r LOS ANGELES, March 2.-Lost in
a storm over the rugged Tehachapi
Mountains, an airliner carrying nine
persons either crashed or made a
forced landing before it's fuel supply
was exhausted at l am. a am.
E. S. T) today.
The Transcontinental g. Western
airplane was bound from San Fran
cisco to Albuquerque, N. Mex. by way
of Los Angeles, and was last reported
at 9:l6 o'clock last night Q2:16 am,
E. S. T.
Pilot John D. Graves turning back
from Tehachapi crossing at 10000
feet because of ice conditions, radioed
he was north of Bakersfield and ac-
knowledged instructions to land at
that city.
The last word from Pilot Graves
was at 9:28 pm. when he talked with
Lawrence j. Woodward, T. w. A.
radioman at the San Francisco airport.
He said he was flying by instru-
ment at 10000 feet" Mr.. Woodward
said, "and was descending for a land
ing at Fresno" Fresno is about 100
miles north of Bakersfield.
Reports Plane Flying Low.
c. G. Landry, at a Hunting Lake
power station in the high Sierra some
As miles northeast of Fresno, reported
he had seen a plane flying at low
altitude and headed northeast. He
placed the time at about 9:20 pm.
Landry said it was raining heavily.
T. w. A. officials were convinced this
was the missing transport. They made
immediate plans to converge on Fresno
to Join the search at dawn.
Ralph Zimmerman, San Francisco
towerman. said he had heard the plane
messaging at 9:28 pm: Ice is FORM
ing on the wings and 1 am turning
back"
Besides Pilot Graves. the crew was
composed of First Officer C. W. Wal
lace and StewardeSs NJ NJ Wilson.
T W. A. said the six passengers and
their destinations were:
H. NJ. Salisbury, T w. A. first Off
Ger. Los Angeles.
Mr.. and Mrs. L. B. Waits. Chicago.
Mr.. " Krause, Kansas City.
Mr.. Tracy Dirlam, Columbus, Ohio.
Miss Mary Lou Dirlam, Columbus,
Ohio.
A woman whose name was not
learned telephoned from Big Creek. in
mountainous country 80 miles east of
Fresno, that she had seen the lights
of plane flying low at $40 pm. last
night.
Trouble Beyond Fresno.
Radio messages from the plane. as
1t followed the airways beam down the
San Joaquin Valley, gave no hint of
trouble until after it passed Fresno at
about 5000 feet in light rain.
Near the Tehachapis, icy tempera-
lures were encountered At 1888 pm.
the plane turned back toward Fresno.
With no decision yet made where to
land, the plane reported flying at TO-
UU0 feet at $50 pm.
The dispatcher at Union Air Termi-
nal at 9:l6 pm. ordered the Bakers
field landing when informed the plane
was north of that point.
Grave anxiety was manifested at r.
w. A. Offices here as tentative arrange
ments were made to send another
plane north, if necessary, to conduct
a search.
A searching party left San Fran
cisco Airport early this morning by
automobile to hunt for the missing
plane. They were headed for Fresno.
The "Dirlams" listed as passengers
were two Stanford students-Jay,
Tracy Dirlam and Mary Louise Dirlam.
They registered at the university from
Mansfield, Ohio.
Mr.. and Mrs. L. B. Waits were on
their way to Chicago on a pleasure
trip. Mr.. Waits Is a San Francisco
oil salesman
N. H. Salisbury, T. w. A. pilot
on the Kansas City-Newark run, rid
ing as passenger, was returning to
duty at Kansas City after visiting his
mother at Walnut Grove, Calf.
Graves From California.
Pilot Graves made his home in Palo
Alto. Calf; First Officer Wallace, in
Tucson, Ariz., and Stewardess Martha
Wilson. IN Philadelphia.
United Air Lines Cancelled all San
Francisco-Los Angeles trips this
morning, repeatedly to keep the lanes
clear for the search. The company
did not confirm this
BY coincidence, most of T. w. AS
highest ranking officers were in the
West when news came the airliner was
lost. All arranged to speed to Fresno.
President Jack Frye, at Boulder City,
New, said he would make dawn fight
in his own plane.
Paul Richter, vice president in
charge of operations, and w. A. Ham
ilton, maintenance superintendent,
were to take of in plane from Union
Air Terminal.
Steve Welch, superintendent of the
Western division, was flying from
Winslow. Ariz.