The Waterbury Democrat., 1941-04-04
Pilot Gerald O'Brien
 Saves His Passengers
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 Ijured and all suffered from shock and submersion. The only way to get to them was by frog boat.
 These boats have outboard motors and the propellors frequently were snagged on water hyacinth roots. The resucers worked from @ road two miles from the scene of the wreck, on the northern fringe of the great Everglades. The zig-zag course the rescuers had to follow from the road, made 1t @ hve-mile trip to the plane. It was such a tedious pro- cess keeping the propellors cleared that some rescuers poled their way along.
 Flares were strung out along the whole route to aid in the work, but just after the IA persons had been rescued and brought to this towns 20-bed hospital, and Dr. E. B. Hardee and 8 nurse had gone out aboard a frog boat to attend the two victims at the scene of the wreck, @ heavy fog closed over the swamp.
 It was shortly before dawn when the fog lifted and 1t was feared that the doctor might have been lost and failed to reach the two victims in time to save them. They were the pilot, Capt Gerald O'Brien of Mi- ami, whose chest was crushed, and A. c. Mcintyre, an air line employe riding as Q passenger.
 Since a few minutes after 9 6. m yesterday, the 10 persons had sat ir the half-fooded cabin of the dam. aged plane, or sloshed in the waist. deep, hyacintch covered waters out. side, surveying the desolate country. side for chances of escape. Int plane had landed on the fringe O an island in the St. John River es tuary, at the northern tip of tn, Great Everglades.
 Famous Surgeon Aboard Bound from Miami ot New York and carrying among It's passenger Dr. George Crile, the renowned Cleveland, O., surgeon and scientist and his wife, and Mrs. James M Cox, Jr, daughter Jaw of the 1922 Democratic presidential nominee the plane was caught in a violer thunderstorm and was pancaked [, the ground In one of the wildes stretches of country on It's route.
 Mrs. Crile, who with her husban' was the first to be brought to tn Indian River hospital here, said "T.he plane ran nito e terrible storn We flew through perfectly hor rible thunderheads. I have flown thousands of miles but have neve seen anything like 1t. The ailerol broke and the pilot lost control c the plane. He told me later that h was afraid he might land upsid down, but he did 6 superb job. "When the plane crashed, wate came up to our hips inside tn plane. My husband was wedged 1 his seat and couldn't get out. Blank cts, pillows and everything were fly ing around when we landed.' Eng:nes Torn From Plane Both engines were torn from tt plane and the undercarriage ws crushed. It settled evenly in tt water, however, with the front pa of the cabin slightly elevated, tf normal ground position. Watt gushed in but the passengers rt mained calm. Rain continued Q day and night, drenching the rel cuerS.
 The scene of the crash was fi, miles southeast of here, 20 mil' northwest of Fort Pierce, where was lest sighted aloft at 8:57 Q. n and 100 miles north of Miami. was two miles from state highwa No. 30, which the rescuerS used, b, 1t was a five-mile boat trip on u zig-zag course that had to be fo lowed.
 The 21-passenger Douglas plan on flight No. 14, known as the "Jacl sonville Flyer" left Miami ct T.; a. m. It made the first schedule stop at West Palm Beach and le there at 8:16 @. m. It was seen ov Fort Pierce at 8:57 and was to ha' stopped next at Daytona Beach, the Jacksonville, Brunswick, Georgi Charleston, Raleigh, Richmon Washington, Baltimore, Philadelph and New York.
 Alarm Had Spread
 As the hours passed and u weather grew worse along the rou with no word of the plane, anxie increased. In the afternoon scare was started. Four army bombe joined 1t. Capt. Eddie Rickenbacke Eastern Air Lines president, WI lay in an Atlanta, Ga, hospital r covering from injuries suffered in crash of one of his air liners nei Atlanta Feb. 26, in which eigl persons were killed, kept informs of the search by bedside radio.
 At 6 p. nl., half an hour after u plane was due at New York's La Guardia Field, and EAL. pilot. DO Johnston. sighted the wreckal from Q searching plane and me- saged the news that she was "Rigl side up. People are walkir around and waving"
 Other planes circled the spo marking 1t for ground rescuers. It was almost midnight when tf first survivors reached this tow which had c hospital but no dos tors, until five were summoned frol nearby towns. Night oS the 70 l1oI pital beds were occupied when tt airplane passengers began to arriv
 Dr. Crile, inventor of the gystei