The Wilmington morning star., 1945-07-29

dream-'tis a contamination
I am going to jump. I'll burn to
DEATH"
Phillip Kerby, on the 18th floor,
shouted to her not to jump. When
he went to the stairway to get to
her. a sheet of flames lashed out
in his face. He went back to his
office, the grant advertising firm,
and shouted encouragement to the
girl. Finally, firemen forced their
way up to the 8Oth floor and res
cued her.
The impact of the plane and its
explosion tore a gaping 15-foot hole
on the north side of the building.
The plane hit just below the ceiling
of the 18th floor, doing almost
equal damage TO the 18th and 10Th
stories. On the south side of the
building there was smaller hole,
caused by the engine which plum
melted through the building.
Stan Lomax. WOR radio station
sports announcer, was driving
down Fifth avenue at the moment
of the tragedy and saw the
plane crash.
Il heard the roar CT the plane
engines" he said. Il looked up and
then knew it would crash. It's
course was straight down Fifth
avenue and the pilot must have
known when 1 saw the plane that
he would hit the building"
Lomax and several other wit
nesses said the pilot tried to pull
up his plane at the last moment,
glistening tower loom ahead of him
in the fog. But by then it was too
late.
AS soon as it struck, with a
crash like thunder in a night
MARE Lomax said, 1.-THE entire
floor where it hit burst into the
same golden, binding flames as
the plane had done. 1t was all like
a hideous dream, maybe because
the fog made it seem unreal"
An expert report on the accident
came from 1t. Aubrey B. Condit.
Air Forces officer, who saw the
crash from the 55th story window
of a building at And street and
Fifth Avenue.
Il knew what was going to hap
pen when 1 saw that BIS come
down out of the clouds and the
fog" he said. The pilot was a
minute away from the Empire
State building then. He had min
ute to see how he was going to
die.
Il prayed for the guy. He didn't
have a prayer. He was lost. I've
flown a lot of planes and l know. :"
Condit said he believed the
pilots radio had gone out and he
didn't know where he was.
''He came down to find out
where in hell he was" Condit
said. He found out all right and
tried to get Up high again-quicker
than he'd ever done before
Condit said the pilot served his
plane a bit to the left as he ap-
preached the tower - but not
enough to avoid the collision. He
said the BIS motors were working
perfectly.
Then the plane hit and I saw it
silhouetted against the flames,
Condit said. The engines had jet
tisoned forward into the building.
For a second the plane was out
lined then the whole thing burst in
to a Evid pillar of flame. Then
shook me like nothing has before.
1.-The whole side of the building
for six or seven floors seemed to
be on fire. saw the debris falling,
wing. The pressure of the blast
had cleared the overcast hanging
onto the building and it was too
damn clear for me to want to see
for six or seven minutes
Mayor F. H. Laguardie inspect
ed the scene about two hours after
the crash. He walked over the
rubbed 10Th floor where. rescue
workers were piling together the
bits and pieces of what had been
busy office workers and steno-
graphers.
cit was just an oven," he COM
manted and pointed out that the
plane was flying toe low" There
is city regulation against flying
below 500 feet over Manhattan
NO MECHANICAL FAILURE
NEW YORK, July % - W.P II
Brig. Gen. c. P. Kane. Army Air
Force officer in charge of investi-
eating the crash of a Mitchell
bomber into the empire state build
ing said today that a preliminary
survey showed no indications Of
any mechanical failure in the air
craft"
Kane, as commanding general of |