Evening star., 1947-01-13
allure Of Radio
RangeProbedin in
Crash Fatal 10 Is
Only One Survives
Plunge of Airliner
Near GuIux, Va.
BY the Associated Press

GALAA, Va, Jan. lo.-Wnat
part, if any, an imperative ra-
dio beacon" played in the crash
of an Eastern Airlines passenger
plane near here, with the loss
of IS lives, may be learned to-
day as the company and the
Civil Aeronautics Board launched
Investigations.
The big liner, Miami-bound from
Detroit, plunged to earth and
burned around las am. yester-
day on a rain-swept hill about
10 miles west of here. Only one
of the 10 persons aboard survived
the terrific impact and subsequent
fire.
CAB investigators examined the
blackened wreckage for clues to the
accidents cause and Washington
officials said public hearings would
follow Immediately.
Pulled From Wreckage.
The lone survivor was William
Ellis Keyes, jr., rs, of Boynton, Fla,
who was pulled from the twisted
wreckage by two rescuers who
ripped a seat from the flaming
fuselage and dragged him to safety.
"a congressional investigation
of what he termed the "inex.
cusable killing of American peo-
pie" in plane crashes was pro-
posed to the House today by
Representative Rivers, Democrat,
of South Carolina)
(The Eastern Airlines tragedy
brought the total of dead in
crashes in the United States to
27 yesterday Five persons were
killed when two planes collided
over the Aviation Center Air
port at Miami, Fla. One person
was injured critically.
(Another Florida crash cost
two lives when an Army train
ing plane crashed at Cocoa in
Brevard County.
Ca two-seated private plane
crashed at Van Dyke, near De-
troit, killing an Army Air Forces
veteran and a student pilot.)
Capt. Eddie Rickenbacker, presi-
dent and general manager OF East /,
ern Air Lines, said in Miami that
the plane was go miles off its course
when it crashed near here. The
Civil Aeronautics Authority, he said.
messaged at 2::30 a.rn,-about 45
minutes after the plane went down
that the airways radio range bea-
con at Winston-Salen, N. c., was
not operating.
The big DC-3 plane, flight 665 Of
the line, was due at Winston Salem,
its next stop, at 1.23 am.
Attempted to Contact Plane.
Capt. Rickenbacker said heA did
not know how long the airways bea-
con had been imperative, but added
that "our station at Charlotte at
tempted to contact the plane at 1888
am. to tell the crew that the range
modulation of the airway beacon
was satisfactory"
''It appears to us that there was
some connection between the in
operative radio beacon and the fact
that the plane crashed of Its
course" he said.
In Washington CAA spokesman
said the CAA was monitoring the
range during the early morning
hours yesterday and that 1t was
getting weak signals which failed
altogether at 1:55 am. He said
this range was taken over from the
Army recently and the CAA had not
had a chance to check it. If the
power fails, he added, there Is no
standby power available. He said
he did not know how long the sig
mails were off yesterday morning.
but when maintenance men checked
1t at 2:45 am. it was functioning.
Sheared or Trees.
The airliner sheared off the tops
of trees for 500 yards. The wings
were ripped off and the fusilage
came to rest against muddy fill,
only stones throw from the North
South highway and about 100 yards
from its intersection with route 95.
The list of those aboard the plane,
released by Easterns Miami office:
The crew: Capt. Harold M. Has
kew, Jacksonville, Fla, pilot; J. j.
Canepa, copilot, whose wife, Mill
dred, was waiting for telephone
call from him in Vineland, N. j.,
when she heard of his death, and
lSee CRASHES, Page A-3D