Evening star., 1943-09-13
Richard {. Du Pont,
Three Others Killed
In Crash Of Glider

Two leaders of the army Air
Forces glider program. both sta
toned in Washington, were
among the four victims of a
glider which crashed on a test
flight Saturday at March Field,
Calf. .
They were Richard Chichester du
Pont, director of the Army Air
Forces glider program as special
assistant to Gen. Henry H. Arnold,
chief of the Army Air Forces; and
Mr.. Du Points deputy. Col. P. Ernest
Gabel. Two test pilots. H. w. Nor
rison San Fernando, Calf, and c. C.
Chandler, Tarzana, Calf, also lost
their lives.
Mr.. Du Pont, nationally known
glider pilot and member of Della
wares noted Du Pont family, who
assumed charge of the Army's
glider program April 27, was killed
when safety device on his para
chute failed to operate after he had
bailed out when the glider went into
spin at 5000 feet, March Field
officers reported.
Two Parachute to Safety.
Col. Gabel and the two test pilots
crashed to earth with the glider.
Two other occupants of the glider.
Paul G. Wells and Harry M. Pearl
parachuted to safety.
1t was the second glider tragedy
In less than two months. Ten men.
among them Mayor William D.
Becker of st. Louis and Mai. William
B. Robertson, pioneer aircraft man
ufacturer, lost their lives August
when wing fell off their glider dur
ing demonstration fight at st.
Louis.
Maj. Levin P. Barringer, noted
glider authority, who preceded Mr..
Du Pont as head of the Army glider
program, was among the nine lost in
transport plane in the Caribbean
area in January.
With Mr.. Du Pont, gliding had
been lifetime avocation. He
formed glider club while attending
the University of Virginia and was
taught to fly power planes by his
brother Felix.
National Champion Five Times.
With Harry Bowlus, sailplane
designer he met while studying aero
nautical engineering at Curtiss-
Wright Technical Institute, Glen
dale, Calf, he first began building
sailplanes at San Fernando. He was
national soaring champion for five
years in succession and set a new
distance soaring record of
1928 miles when he flew from Rock
fish Gap, Va, to Frederick. Md, in
1888.
The following year he established
the international distance record
of l53 miles, from Elmira. N. Y, to
Somerset, N. J. 1t was at the Elmira
meet that he took off from noun
tain top one afternoon with his
father. A. Felix du Pont of Reho-
both Beach, Del, hit fluky air cur
rent, smashed to the ground and
turned over. Both the occupants
were unhurt.
On another occasion, while flying
a power plane over the Alleghanies,
he ran into a sudden snowstorm
and was forced to make a blind
landing on ridge few feet short
of precipice.
Formed Airline.
In 1898, when the Post Office De-
partment advertised for bids on two
experimental aerial pickup routes,
Mr.. du Pont, who had met the in
ventor of graphing hook device
enabling a plane to pick up specially
designed mail pouches from pole
supports, formed All American Avia-
ton, Inc. 1t operated for year,
serving Pittsburgh and Philadelphia
and later established routes in New
York, New Jersey ana Kentucky.
In addition to his father, Mr..
du Pont is survived by his widow, the
former Helena Allaire Crozier of
Philadelphia: a son. Richard C. du
Pont, jr., and daughter, Helena
Allaire du Pont.
Gabel Was Veteran Pilot.
Col. Gabel, who had 3,4OO hours
of pilot flying time, held special
ratings as autogyro pilot, helicopter
pilot and pilot of radio-controlled
targets, as well as combat observer.
senior aircraft observer, senior pilot
and glider pilot.
Born in Lakeland, Fla, in 1910,
he graduated from West Point in
1888 with bachelor of science de-
gree. He was promoted to a COL
onelcy in October, 1912, after service
at various Army fields and schools.
Col. Gabel was made chief of the
observation division, Directorate of
Air Support, in March, 1912. serving
until March of this year, when he
became assistant chief of air staff
training in charge of the Air Sup
port Training Branch.
Col. Gabel was named as Mr..
Du Points deputy in the glider pro-
gram in June of this year.
Surviving Col. Gabel are his
widow, Mrs. Roberta J. Gabel, who
moved to Tampa, Fla. in May when
Col Gabel had expected to be sent
overseas, and three small children.
Mrs. Gabel was in Washington last
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