Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1956-07-02
PLANES

Continued From First Page
to $1,000 feet. Before the CAA
could tell him United was flying
at that altitude, the pilot said
he would change his flight plan
to visual-flying 1000 feet on
top Of the cloud level.
The CAA approved and in
formed the TWA pilot that the
United plane was at $1,000 feet.
An official said he did not know
if the Oct knew of the flight
change. but that notification
was not necessary because the
TWA plane was supposed to be
flying in the clear.
The two liners were next heard
from over the Arizona California
border about 200 miles east of
Los Angeles.
The Super Constellation bound
for Kansas City, checked in at
1855 am. INST. To the south,
the OCT, en- route to New York,
reported it was over Lake Mohave
on the Colorado River at 1858.
The next and last message
heard from either plane came
from the DC7 at 1882 am.
(MST).. 1t said: I'VE are going
="
According to fight plans. both
pilots were supposed to check in
over spot on the Painted Des-
ert, some 20 miles east of Grand
Canyon Village. at precisely the
same time. 1881 am.
A member of the search and
rescue mission, Capt. Byrd Ry-
land Of March Air Force Base,
Calf. said that at the time OF
the crash the thunderheads
rolled as high as 10000 feet.
Discussing the crash later,
Capt. Alvin C. Scott of Hamil-
ton ALB. Calf. one of the Sc
Inior search officers. called it a
"one-in-a -million-one- ina bill
lion crash"
Air Force officers agreed unan-
Iimously it must have been a COL
Ilision.
Henry and Palen Hudgin,
brothers who operate a sight
seeing air service at the canyon,
spotted plume of smoke in the
canyon Saturday afternoon.
Since their report reached res
icue officers after dark. no search
planes were sent out. 1t was later
established that they had sighted
the wrecked super Constellation
Wreckage of the Oct was
found less than a mile away
early yesterday
Possibility Discounted
A TWA spokesman discounted
the possibility that one plane
crashed first and the other later
cracked up while circling over
examining the Wreckage. He said
that If this had been the case
the second plane would have
radioed news of the crash.
Two black scars on buff col
ored cliffs marked the crash
scenes. near the confluence OF
the Little Colorado and Colorado
Rivers
One scar was about 1000 feet
UP the cliff from the Colorado
About 500 feet away was a piece
of white metal, part of the
Super Consultations tail.
The other burn was on top OF
Chuar Butte and there was a
trickle Of wreckage. including a
DC-7 tail section, running down
the bluff.
A half mile to the east is a
small plateau that might have
served as a crash landing site
But pilots doubted either plane
had a chance to use it.
Plunged Straight Down
Capt. Dean Lewis of Luke AFB.
Ariz., who spotted the DC-7I
wreckage while lodging cliffs at
300 feet, said he was sure both
planes plunged straight down.
Capt. Womack, also of Luke,
said it was possible the planes
spiraled to earth completely out
of control after the presumed
collision.
Capt. Womack added. THE
time it takes for a plane to dive
down from q 900 feet is time for
a lot of thinking.
These were some OF the things
Capt. Womack and two Others
in his party found.
Three Of the Super Constel-
latlons engines, none OF the
Dots.
A Womans coat. newly
starched white shirts still in Gel
lophane wrappers and fresh
TWA napkins.
Thousands of tiny pieces Of
aluminium, few larger than q
feet across.
Four and five foot boulders
split IN two.