Evening star., 1942-10-25
Collision With Bomber
Wrecked Big Air|iner ,
Killing Z, Army Says
Eight Bodies Recovered:
Ralph Roineer, Song
Wriser, Among Victims

RoIph Roinger, Song
Wriser, Among Victims
BY the Associated Press. -.-a
PALM SPRINGS, Calf, Oct. "a
The crash of a giant airline1
on Chino ridge of rugged Mount
San Jacinto yesterday, car
rylng IL persons to their deaths
resulted, a Western Defense Com
mand announcement said today
from a collision between an Army
plane and the airliner.
The announcement said detail.
would be available later.
Eight bodies were found today il
the wreckage.
The body of Estelle Regan ot
Dallas, Tex, the stewardess, hac
been found near the wreckage
Officials said the three other persons
may have been thrown from the
airliner as it spun crafty to earth
Nine of the victims were passengers
aboard the ship, eastbound from
Burbank to New York.
Song Writer Among Victims.
Ralph Ranger, ii, writer of such
popular tunes as Love in Bloom,
June in January" and Here Lies
Love-" was among the victims.
In a statement in New York
Charles A. Rheinstrom, vice presi-
dent of American Airlines in charge
Of traffic, declared:
American Airlines flight %, east
bound Los Angeles to New York
was In collision with an Army
bomber, crashed half a mile west OF
Palm Springs at Sis pm, Pacific
time, Friday, October %.
Left Los Angeles at 4:3o pm. and
was at normal cruising altitude, on
course, clear weather and daylight
when accident occurred"
R. NJ. Martin, civilian air raid
spotter ana guard at a telephone re-
peater station, said:
There were lot of planes in the
air, but two were away up above
the others, about 5000 or 10000 feet
Death Glide Described.
Both were bi-motored and flying
due east One was two or three
miles behind the other. Then about
three to five miles farther on, the
one in the rear veered off to the
southeast. -.
The transport went straight on.
About two or three miles later, the
rear plane started coming back to-
ward the transport at an angle.
swear they looked like one plane,
they were so close.
Pieces of metal flared out into
the air. The rear plane continued
on and the transport started what
I guess you'd call its Death glide
downward, back and forth, faster
and faster
SoSiers quickly surrounded the
wreckage, which burned for more
than five hours. Civilians were not
permitted near it.
Other eyewitnesses made no men
ton of second craft. Fred Klug Of
Palm Springs said he saw what he
thought were pieces of the planes
tail falling off. Marjorie Pohl de-
clared:
THE plane shook and quivered,
and the tail appeared to fall off and
the ship started to spin"
Death List Given Out.
The tail fcoted down in canyon
e~rces the ridge frcrn the scene
c. the mn vreckagc. Two CAA
jnve~ti- atc-s gave it special study
tea.
fmcricar tirlines released tie fol-
Icing death list:
Capt. Charles F.. Pedley, 40. Dallas
Tex, pilot with record of 1000, ,00O
air miles.
First Officer L. F. Report, Dallas
recently transferred from the COM
pany's New York headquarters.
Stewardess Regan.
Mr.. Ranger.
c. M. Vert, 81, Los Angeles, chief
engineer, Gay Engineering Co., ma
tive of Covington, KY, and a former
University of Kentucky football
captain.
B. r. Vest, jr., employed by Allison
Engines of Birmingham, Ala, anc
Indianapolis, en- route to Phoenix
Ariz.
M. c. Henderson, Phoenix, men,
ber Arizona Interstate Industrial
Commission.
c. Baker, Phoenix, travelling with
M Henderson
Frank Bird, "a. Hollywood, Lock
heed Aircraft Corp. engineer, er
route to Washington.
L. A. Hege, Winston Salem, N. C.
en- route to Atlanta, Ga.
E. H. Wallace, Las Vegas, New
en- route to Phoenix.
1t. Joseph R. Rosser. Santa Ana
Army Airbase, bound for Dallas.
Mrs. Ranger Collapses.
Mr.. Ranger, heading east after
completing work on songs for the
new picture, "Coney Island" at 20tt
Century-Fox Studio, is survived by
his widow and two children: The
former collapsed when informed o1
his death. Near collapse was Mr.
Rangers collaboration on many sons
hits, Leo Robin.
Mr.. Vert, a specialist in air con-
ditioning, boarded the plane a few
minutes after a birthday party fol
his 4-year- old daughter, Linda. HIT
is elso survived by his widow, Kathe.