Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1942-12-16
II Of 10 Die in Crash
OF Transport Plane
In Utah Desert
Four Women Included
Among Victims; Marine
Officer Survives
By the Associated Press.

By the Associated Press.
FAIRFIELD, Utah, Dec. 16-A 90
year-old Marine officer frightened his
safety belt and survived Western
Airlines transport crash that killed
II and left a second injured passen-
ger battling for his life today.
Marine 1t. A. F. Gardner of Alex
ander, N. Y, smiled with scratched,
bruised face from his hospital bed at
Lehi as he said: Il nearly froze to
death. and I'm lucky to be here"
A. J. Mallett of Springfield, Ark,
the only other person aboard to
escape death when the big ship
toppled into stretch of sagebrush
desert about S. miles south of Salt
Lake City yesterday, was much more
seriously hurt than the Marine.
Four women, including Stewardess
Cleo Booth of Los Angeles; two mil
itary officers, eight other man pas
sengers and three crew members
died in the crash, some Of them lin
geringly. as 1t. Gardner told of
awful screaming and groaning" In
JQe smashed CdDll.
Sought Landing Field.
The pilot apparently was cropping
for an emergency landing field at
Fairfield, miles from the crash
spot, as the ship was pointed north
ward. It had failed to report by
radio after taking of for Los An
geles.
Two of the victims were w. o.
Hart. ST, co-publisher of the Orange
(Calif) Daily News since 1908, who
had attended a loan company di-
rectors' meeting In Salt Lake City,
and Donald E. Cummings, AZ, of
Denver, head of the industrial hy-
giene department of the University
of Colorado.
The women passengers were Mrs.
Leona Resell, Salt Lake City; Mrs.
Carolyn Weersing, Glendale, Calf,
and Mrs. George Skylstead, Las
Vegas, New.
The others killed were 1t. Thomas
A. Baldwin, u S. NJ. of Kellogg,
Iowa; Second 1t. Hugh E. McCrae
OF the Army Air Forces, believed to
be from La Grange, Ill; Pilot Ed
ward J. Loeffler, Glendale, Calf;
Co-pilot J. Clifton Lee. Burbank,
Calf; Douglas Soule, St. Peters,
burg, Fla. co-pilot- Knight
Bennett, Glendale; Fred Lewis. Los
Angeles; Guy Talbot, jr, Great
Falls, Mont. airlines traffic man
ager; j. r. Bratt, Salt Lake City:
r. H. Huffman, Omaha, and Rich
ard w. James, Salt Lake City.
Gardner suffered a fractured right
leg and shoulder injuries, but fearful
that gasoline-fed flames might
break out any moment, he dragged
himself clear Of the ship. However,
1t did not burn.
Endured Cold IL Hours.
The marine shivered through the
bitter night OF the Cedar Valley
Desert before rescuers reached the
lonely spot nearly IL hours later.
1t. Gardner related that his first
intimation of trouble aboard was
when felt the pilot pull the nose
up. almost steep enough to send
the ship into stall"
Il grabbed my safety belt and
pulled 1t tighter. Apparently the
pilot was trying to clear hill. Then
the ships nose came down and it
seemed to shake from side to side.
Next thing knew 1t smashed. Peo-
pile were thrown toward the front
OF the cabin"
Fumes from the smashed gasoline
tanks, Mr.. Gardner said, filled the
cabin so thick you hardly could
breathe. I was afraid the plane
would catch on fire, so I started
dragging myself along, trying to
find the doorway.
Finally I made it; then pulled
myself along the ground for a way.
I spent the night out there in the
sagebrush and 1t vas mighty cold"
Co-pilot Lee was a former Salt
Lake City resident, the son of Mr..
and Mrs. Roland Lee of that city.
Before joining Western Air Lines
he was a civilian pilot training in
structor at Logan.