Evening star., 1949-11-15
CAB May Quiz
Rios Further on
Crash Details
Public Inquiry Ends;
Airline Pilots Walk
Out in Protest


air collision which killed SIS person
here November /.
Members of the CAB investiga
ton panel, who concluded five
day hearing late yesterday. ar
known to want clarification of tn
41-page deposition of Capt. Fri
Rios Bridoux, pilot of the P-3
which chopped through an Easter
airliner. resulting in the death o
all on board.
Representatives of the Air Lin
Pilots Association, an AF'L aftlll
ate. walked out on the hearing
in its final hour and expressed
dissatisfaction with inquiry pro
cedures which they described a.
completely and basically wrong.
David L. Behncke, president o.
the pilots union, said that since
the CAB is charged with writing
air safety rules the agency was
actually investigating itself" ir
the hearing. while "the Civil
Aeronautics Administration, the
implementer and enforcer OF the
rules, was standing close by"
Testimony Was Restricted.
The union represe N a t ives
walked out when they were told
any oral testimony they might
want to offer would be restricted
to matters involving the crash
The union pilots were prepared to
discuss need for revision OF air
safety regulations and re-estab-
lishment of an independent air
safety board.
A CAB spokesman said today
"this is not the first time the
pilots union has utilized an acci-
dent investigation as publicity
sounding board to further the
unions political ambition"
CAB investigators today left fol
four different parts Of the coun.
try to run down leads furnished
by testimony at the hearing.
One was the possibility that al
airman flying within SO miles o1
National at the time of the col
1ision overheard at least part o.
the vital conversation that wen
on between the control tower anc
the P-38 on its approach.
Pilot Heard Radio Conversation
The inquiry panel received 6
letter at conclusion of the hearing
from the pilot. who is now ir
Florida. He expressed the view
that he had overheard pertinent
parts of the radio conversation
The inquiry thus far has been un-
able to locate any disinterested
persons with knowledge of what
was said to Capt. Rios and what
his replies were. ....
The CABS conclusions, which
may contain safety recommenda.
tions bearing on the relationship
of military and commercial all
traffic, probably will not be an.
nounced before the first of mex
year. It was possible, however
that preliminary reports may bt
issued earlier on the basis of testi-
mony from more than so witnesses
The hearing reached a dramatic
conclusion late yesterday, when ar
Eastern Airlines vice president
John Halliburton, of Miami, plead.
ed with the CAB panel for relief
from the repeated accidents that
have befallen the company's pas
senger carriers as the result o1
midair collisions with military air.
craft.
Other Accidents Cited.
The accident near National Air
port was only one of several, Mr.
Halliburton said. He pointed ur
the urgent need for new regula.
tions covering the movement o1
military planes around busy air.
ports and on the Federal air.
ways.
The loss of the airliner brings
to IA the death total in three col
lisions between military airplane:
and regular Eastern airliner'
since July, 1945, Mr.. Halliburton
told the five-man investigating
panel.
Maj. German Pol of the Bolivian
Air Force testified that, as an OF.
fetal representative of his govern
ment, he wished to express hi:
regret for the catastrophe thai
lost the lives of SIS Americans.
Maj. Pol had testified earlier
in the hearing that the Bolivian
government had denied ownership
of the P-38. On the other hand
the president of the Washington
war surplus sales firm, which hac
acquired the fighter, declared Maj
Pol and Capt. Rios had signed
statement assuming full response
bility for any damages that nigh
result from the test flights.
CAB Pilot Retraces Course.
Capt. Rios, who is recovering al
Alexandria Hospital from broker
back and three fractured ribs, ha'
said in a sworn deposition thai
he was experiencing engine trou'
BILE when he made his approach
He did not ask for emergency
clearance to land, however, ane
no one in the tower heard hin
mention engine trouble.
Testimony that Capt. Rios wa!
descending at three times the nor.
NAL rate and 20 miles an houl
faster than usual was given yes.
terday by Col. Robert v. Garrett
chief test pilot for the CAB. Col
Garrett obtained this information
he said, when he flew P-38 last
Wednesday on the landing ap.
proach described by control tower
operators and other eyewitnesse.
in the vicinity.
Col. CARROTS testimony raised
the possibility that Capt. Rios
could have turned off his radio
receiver by accident while retard-
ing his throttles as he nosed the
P-38 down toward the airport