Evening star., 1952-12-27
Drama and Thrills
Seldom Amusing, Play
Air Line Circuits
BY the Assoeioted Press


NEW YORK, Dec. 27.-Airplanes
are sometimes the setting for
scenes as packed with drama as
ANY mystery thriller.
A bomb explodes a Canadian
Iairliner in full fight; and an un-
wanted wife-and % others
|plummet to death. A mild looking
passenger on plane from Com
lmunist country seizes control Of
an airliner at pistol point and
pilots it to freedom. An old war
plane glides to earth in the South
|ern United States and a dozen
aliens without passports vanish
in the dark to emerge with new
names and lives. In the cushioned
seat Of a transatlantic airliner
|dozes q smuggler. who has dia-
|monds hidden in his heels.
Some Of these happening, which
made front pages. chilled the
spines OF readers. There was the
story Of Albert Quay. the dapper
little Quebec jeweler, who was
tired of his wife Che said she
lnagged) and in love with a pretty
young waitress.
Husband Put to Death.
One September day in 1949,
Mrs. Quay (whose life was in
sured for $1O,o00) boarded a
Canadian plane. Forty miles
from Quebec bomb exploded in
its baggage compartment and the
plane crashed to earth. killing all
on board. Some time later Quay
went to his death on the gallowS,
convictde of time-bombing a
plane to murder his wife.
An American airliner might
have met a similar fate flying
from Los Angeles to San Diego,
if the unexpected had not hap
pened and the plotter lost his
nerve. Just before the plane left,
porter accidentally dropped a
bag, which flashed into flame. At
the same moment a young labo-
ratory technician. John Henry
Grant. rushed to the ticket win
dow shouting: Don't let that
|plane take off; I just put a bag
full of gasoline on it."
Grants wife and two children
were on board the plane. which
was hastily emptied of passen-
gers. They were insured for $685.
900: Grant was the beneficiary
He, too, was unhappy at home
and in love with a red-haired
airline stewardess. Grant was
sentenced to prison for one to 20
years. His wife sued for divorce.
Twenty passengers aboard a
Mexican airliner had a closer call
last September. Their plane was
winging along in full flight when
a bomb exploded in it's baggage
compartment. A ool-headed
pilot made an emergency landing
with all on board safe.
Hired for Fictitious Jobs.
Police said seven of the pas
sengerS had been hired for ficti-
tious jobs in Oaxaca, insured for
a total of $230.000 and given en-
graved farewell gifts, which would
have helped identify their bodies.
Emilio Arellano, an engineer, and
Paco Sierra. popular singer
named as beneficiaries of some
OF the policies, are awaiting trial
One piece Of high-f1ying skull
duggery. which harassed Uncle
Sans immigration agents for
years. climaxed under circum-
stances that sounded like a chap
ter from a mystery thriller. The
agents knew aliens were being
smuggled into this country by
chartered plane at $1,000 to
$4,000 a head. They had long
sought Gregorio Simonovich, a
Russian-born Cuban smuggler, as
the kingpin. but the Cuban gov
ernment refused to extradite him
One day last fall border pa
trolmen got a mysterious tele-
phone call to hurry to an aban-
doned airf1eld. There they found
Simonovich trudging alone along
the runway. (The unknown plane
that dropped him there had dis
appeared0 The Russian was ar
rested for illegal entry. tried for
Smuggling aliens and sentenced tc
two years in Jail.