Evening star., 1939-03-27
Eiqht Killed in Crash
As Airliner's Motor
Shakes 10 Pieces
Four More Badly Hurt
When Plane Fails to
Reach Airport
By the Associated Press.

By the Associated Press.
OKLAHOMA CITY. March 81
A powerful motor which shook to
pieces was blamed by the pilot to-
day for the fiery crash of a twin
engined 14-passenger Braniff air.
liner which killed eight persons.
-Four persons, including the pilot,
Capt. Claude Seaton of Dallas,
escaped with injuries in the Sunday
morning crash.
THE left motor shook to pieces.
I tried to make it back to the field.
= but we couldn't" DR.. H. D. Collins
quoted Capt. Seaton.
Federal investigators examined
the debris of the motor as they
sought officially to fix the cause of
the crash.
OF the four survivors, Carl Erick-
son, passenger from Chicago. was
least seriously injured The others,
Capt. Seaton, Co-Pilot Malcolm
Wallace, and Perry R. Smith, a pas
senger Corpus Christi, Tex, were
injured seriously, but were expected
to recover.
lTleu 10 hedCn FlelO.
1--WE had just taken Off" said Mr.
Erickson. Il was sitting on the left
side and was looking out tie window.
The propeller seemed to give way
and the left motor went bad. Then
we crashed"
The ship, bound from Chicago to
Dallas, smashed into the ground
just west of the municipal airport
boundary lights about 3 am. 1t just
had taken off into a north wind
when it radioed: Turn on lights.
Returning to field"
The left motor was found 20 yards
from the wreckage. The left wing
shorn away.
The pilot and co-pilot were thrown
from the wreckage. The two pas
sengers who escaped alive pulled
off their safety belts and struggled
from the plane just as it caught
fire.
The bodies of the victims were
slumped in the forward part of the
ship. The hostess, Miss Louise Zarr,
25. Dallas, was at her post.
Miss Joan Allan, 35, an Evanston,
Ill, nurse and one of the eight vic
TINS, had 'sensed a tragic death
because of terrible dream she had
two weeks ago"
A friend, Miss Elena Gould of
Evanston, said a note was found in
Miss Allan's room addressed to
friends. Mr.. and Mrs. William Baker
Of South Bend, Ind. 1t began:
Il am not expecting any accident,
but in case one should occur these
are my requests
The crash was the first fatal to a
passenger in the airline's history. Six
company employees were killed De-
cember %, 1886, in a test flight at
Dallas.
Two of the victims, Ben Coplon
and Barney G. Grossman, 81
brothers. in law. were en- route to
the bedside of Mr.. Coplon's wife, Ida,
IN Houston, Tex, hospital. Mr.
Coplon lived at Chicago, Mr.. Gross
man at Aurora, III.
Oil Man Missed Plane.
Others killed were R. T. Bate.
Denver; Mrs. Georgia Sheldon of
Omaha, Ferim Cairo, Mexico City,
and Mrs. E. Hinckley, Port Isabel,
Tex.
Charles Beard, vice president. in
charge of traffic for Braniff, praised
the "skillful handling" of the plane
by Capt. Seaton and Pilot Wallace
as undoubtedly responsible for say
ing the lives of two of the passen-
gers"
William G. Johnston, Oklahoma
City Oil man, reused by hotel por-
ter yesterday morning, decided he
didn't have time to pack his bags.
Cancelled his plane reservation and
went back to sleep.
Two hours later telephone
operator awakened him to report
the plane he missed had crashed
and burned
L haven't been able to sleep
SINCE" Mr.. Johnston said today.