Evening star., 1945-04-28
Hero Of Crash SAYS
Sweater Enabled Him
To Save Passengers

at National Airport yesterday that
killed four persons, told his story to
a Star reporter with frequent inter-
jections of There was nothing else
I could do"
Two others who got to the plane
and helped the passengers also gave
their versions. Both credited Mr..
Youngblood as the hero of the oc-
casion.
Mr.. Youngblood, a native Of Elko,
s. c., came here In 1880. He worked
as cook in various restaurants un-
til 1885 when he started driving .
taxicab.
He is married to the former Miss
Eleanor x. Marvel Of Washington.
They have two children, 0olda May
Youngblood, IA, student at Paul
Junior High School, and Charles
Henry Youngblood, 7. = pupil ut
Takoma Elementary School.
Sweater Protected Him.
THAT wreckage was really ablaze,"
he said. II did manage to pull four
or i've passengers out, but If 1t
wasn't for this old sweater I'm
wearing I'd probably have been
burnt bad enough to have quit. See
those sleeves? They're singed bad.
They covered my wrists and part of
my hands. I used those wrists and
hands to get the people out"
He said he saw the accident right
from the start because he was near
the airport after dropping q fare
there. Cruising around, he picked
up another fare and started circ1ing
the field en- route to the city.
Il saw the plane flying at very
low altitude, and suddenly q wing
dipped sharply. The pilot seemed
to right the plane and try landing.
But 1t. wobbled plenty.
Anticipated Crash.
THAT planes going to crash I
yelled to my fare. I stepped on the
gas and made for the spot. When
I was about 100 feet away, there
was noise like a tire blowing out
and she hit the ditch with one wing
and bounced crafty. The wings
then folded up and in 10 seconds
the fuselage was on fire as gas burst
from the fuel tanks.
Il got to the plane and hesitated.
The first passengers, one burned on
the face and another on the hand,
were trying to get out. The pilot,
Jack Decker, staggered out Of door
which was facing nearly upward
and then I saw real horror.
Many of the passengers had
fallen out of the other door which
was over the ditch, and into the
muddy hole. Some were on ire,
and all were deep in the slime.
They just kept screaming Please
help us' and one woman yelled
that she was burning to death. I
grabbed their hands and helped
them out"
Expected Plane to Blow Up.
The sides of the ditch were so
steep, Mr.. Youngblood said, that he
had to slide down on one leg to pull
the people out. He said he pulled one
woman, Mrs. Bell, from under the
wreckage while she was fully ablaze,
and she kept slipping back each time
and would get burned worse" He
said when he finally got her out,
he rolled her In the dirt and put
out the flames. Meanwhile Pilot
Decker was helping me-" Mr..
Youngblood said, "and I needed
him. One man, alone, weighed
about 1876 pounds"
There was one constant thought
in his mind he said-that the plane
would blow up. "Yet somehow it
didn't. I don't know why not, but
it didn't. It was q miracle, that's
what it was"
1t. w. D. Clardy, 1913 South
Thomas street, Arlington, naval
liasion officer stationed at the air
port, also witnessed the crash and
aided in extricating some passen-
gers.
THAT man, Youngblood, Is the
one who really deserves the credit"
1t. Clardy said. HE was practically
wading around in gasoline which
threatened to catch fire any second
and paid no attention to the flames
which could have burned him to q
cinder In a few minutes"
Gust Of Wind Dipped Wing.
The plane, according to 1t. Clardy,
was just airborne when q gust Of
wind forced down the right wing.
Apparently the pilot managed to
level the ship, but the wind forced
the other wing down until it struck
the ground. Then the landing gear
hit the turf and the plane ground
looped into the ditch.
4 Mr.. Youngblood said he was told
by tho pilot that when the right
wing was forced down, one OF the
planes two engines broke away and
crashed to earth.
/ Asked about his passenger, Mr..
Youngblood said: ''I forgot all about
him and when ! returned to the cab
he was gone"
4 r. B. Maloy, an employe Of the
Civil Aeronauties Administration,
who arrived at the scene at about
the same time as Mr.. Youngblood,
helped In the rescue work. He said
he had been observing the plane,
but did not know 1t was In trouble
until it had nosed over and burst
into flames.
he declared passengers "were fall-
Ing over each other" and most Of
them were In flames. He said he
GOT . man and = woman up the