Evening star., 1952-02-13
Airport 10 Stay Closed
While Officials Probe
Elizabeth Disasters
By she Assoeiuiee, Pres,

NEW YORK, Feb. Govern
ment and airline officials have
phomised to keep the disaster
haunted Newark IN. j. Airport
closed pending congressional "and
other responsible official investi-
cations"
Another direct result of the New
York metropolitan areas fourth
airliner crash in two months is
an agreement by 25 airlines to
create a special safety commit
tee and to hold flights over con-
geSted areas to a minimum.
Government and airline officials
met here for almost six hours
yesterday in the wake Of Mon
days smash-up of a National Air
lines plane in Elizabeth, N. j.
Another Passenger Dies.
The toll of that catastrophe
rose today to 80 with the death
in an Elizabeth hospital of an
other plane passenger, Miss Sarah
Aronwald, So. of The Bronx, N. Y.
Newsmen were barred from the
closed meeting, but two persons
who attended said there was
strong sentiment for eventual re-
opening of the Newark field,
which borders on Elizabeth. The
two declined use of their names.
Flight operations at Laguardia
and 1dlewild Airfields in the
Queens Borough and at Teterboro,
On. Jo Airport also were dis
cuSSed at the meeting. The Port
OF New York Authority, a two
State agency, operates these fields
as well as Newark Airport.
Elizabeth's disaster Monday.
killing 80 persons. was the third
time a plane using Newark Air
port crashed in the New Jersey
city. A total of 118 passengers and
residents have died in two months.
This areas other recent airliner
accident was last months dive
into the East River by Boston,
New York plane. All So aboard
were saved by quick rescue work.
The port authority called yes
terday's meeting. which was at
tended by representatives of 25
domestic airlines, three transport
associations. pilots, the Civil
Aeronautics Administration and
the Civil Aeronautics Board.
A statement issued after the
meeting said the conferees unani-
mously agreed on all safety poll
cies, including the promise to
keep Newark Airport closed until
the inquiries are finished.
No estimate of the time re-
quired for the various investiga-
tions was made in the statement.
In the meantime, Newark flights
have been diverted to La Guardia.
Idlewild and Teterboro.
Violent protests by Elizabeth
citizens were chief factor in
ordering Newark Airport closed
within three hours after Mondays
tragedy. Cries for curbs at the
Port Authority's other three air.
ports now have been raised by
some Of the 3 million residents
living near the fields.
Priority Ratings Set.
Yesterdays statement said the
CAA, which operates airport con-
troll towers. will give priority to|
Laguardia and Idlewild runways
which permit take-offs over
water or over the most sparsely
settled areas as a matter of
choice"
Runways requiring flights over
congested areas. the statement
added, will be assigned "only when
such use is mandatory for reasons
Of safety"
Capt. Eddie Rickenbacker,
American World War I ace and
now president of Eastern Airlines,
was appointed head of the IS
member Airlines' Safety Commit
tee. It will hold its first meeting
here Friday.
Meanwhile, the Air Transport
Association, representing AZ
scheduled airlines, said it will
meet here tomorrow to work out
new flight schedules for La
Guardia, Idlewild and Teterboro
as a result of diversions from
Newark.
On the first day the Newark
field was closed, almost 200 flights
were diverted. The four airports
normally handle more than 1000
commercial flights daily.