Evening star., 1953-01-12
Three Missing
AsB.16Crds|les
In Virginia Fog
Bodies Are Sought
In Bomber Debris
Near Charlottesville

NAASA AJ WS0VAASAs HA0AASVA AAAVO q
woods eight miles east Of Char
lottesville. Va, yesterday. Two
Air Force crewmen and a Navy
civilian employe presumably
were killed.
The B-26 cracked up half
hour after taking of from Boil
ing Air Force Base on a routine
training flight to Hensley Field
ut Dallas, Tex.
Aboard were:
Capt. Charles S. Herring, 81,
the pilot. of 800 Ridge place.
Falls Church. Va, a veteran Of
the allied invasion Of Europe
in World War II.
{ Staff Sergt. James r. Quain-
tance. %, of 1340 Savannah
street Sc, who has been in the
Air Force five years.
Michael c. jenkins, 54, a civil
ian employe of the Navy powder
plant at Indian Head, Md.
An Air Force spokesman said
the men are being listed as miss
ing while investigators, on the
scene since dawn today, can
make a positiev Identification Of
victims of the crash.
Ice Forms ON Wings.
The light bomber took off from
Boiling at 1O:45 am. yesterday.
At 11:10 am, the Civil Aero
nautics control tower at Cor
louisville received a radio mes
sage from the plane that slabs
of ice were forming on the wings.
Five minutes later. the plane
zoomed earthward on the farm
of r D. Hawley. Wreckage was
spread over a radius Of 100 yards,
and the nose of the craft bur-
rowed into the earth 20 feet.
Because of the nature of the
crash, Air Force investigators
were unable to enter the wreck
age Immediately in an attempt
to identify the victims. A wit
ness said parts Of the bodies
were strewn with the wreckage.
Virginia State Police Sergt. M.
r. Ritter, one of the first on the
scene, said chunks of ice "as big
as your hand" were found near
the plane.
1T looked like it (the plane)
came. right straight down." he
said.
Heavy equipment for tearing
apart the debris was sent to the
scene last night to aid the in
vestigatorS.
Air Force investigators and
Virginia State police questioned
residents in q wide radius of |
the scene, but found none who
saw any one parachute from the
stricken plane.
Saw Bomber Plunge.
At the time Of the crash, there
was thick fog and drizzle over |
the area. The CAA estimated |
visibility at two miles, with a
ceiling of 800 feet.
An unidentified witness said he
saw the bomber come out of the
overcast at an estimated 400 feet
and then plunge toward the
ground at a 50-degree angle.
Both engines and the wing as
Senblies were buried in the
ground. The fusilage came to
rest at an agile of so degrees
with the ground. The impact
mashed in trees and left a huge
hole in the wood.
Volunteer f1remen from Char
lottesville were rushed to the
scene, but the plane did not burn.
10 Years in Air Force.
Capt. Herring has been in the
Air Force 10 years. He is a ma
tive of Washington. His wife,
Anna Louise, and two children,
Charles S., jr., z, and Roland E.,
4, live at the Ridge place address.
For three years he has been
an instrument training officer. at
Boiling. During World War II.
he served both in the European
and Far East theaters. His
awards include the Distinguished
Flying Cross, the Air Medal with
three Oak Leaf clusters and bat
tie stars for participation in the
Normandy, Northern France and
Rhineland campaigns.
Sergt. Quaintance is native
OF Reading, Pa. His wife, Laura
D.. lives at the Savannah street
address. There are no children.
Sergt. Quaintance had been in
the Air Force five years and at
Boiling two years. He owns q
home in Reading.
Former Farm OverSeer.
Mr.. Jenkins got his first job
at the powder factory in 1915.
and had worked there at various
times since. He is a native Of
Pomankey, Md.
He entered the Navy in 1917,
and served two years before re-
turning to the powder factory.
For l8 years. beginning in 1920,
he was overseer at the Indian
Town Farm near Chaptico, Md.
He went back to the powder
factory in 1888, and has been
there since. He was rigger at
the factory.
A daughter, Nellie. is a high
school senior at Indian Head.
A son, 1t. Michael Jenkins, jr.,
serves with the infantry in Ger
many, and another son. Air Force
Sergt. Robert Jenkins, is
stationed near Tucson, Ariz. His
wife and the daughter live at
the home in Indian Head.