Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1957-03-22
Fear Increases
For Lives Of 81
Down in Pacific
Weather Slows Hunt
For Big MATS Plane
Missing Near Jupun

N'SS''S 'NSuI SuPuH
TOKYO. Mar. % (P.-Fear
mounted tonight for the lives
lof 81 Americans aboard huge
United States military transport
plane which disappeared early
today off Japan as it neared the
end of its trans-Pacific flight.
Low clouds and rain squalls
hampered the air search
Throughout the day. and tower
ing 30-foot swells reduced visi-
Ibility almost to zero for search
ling ships of the United States
Navy and Japanese Coast Guard.
Air Force officials said, how
ever, that throughout the night
an ever-growing force of aircraft
and ships would crisscross the
Pacific corridor stretching 300
miles southeast of Tokyo and
100 miles wide in which the
Iplane was believed to have gone
down.
Some Japanese aviation ex-
Iperts speculated the plane might
have crashed on one Of chain
lof volcanic islands in the vicin-
lily. One of them is Mount Mi
lhara. a 2.470-foot active volcano
into which a Japan Air Line
plane crashed April 8, 1912, kill
ing all 81 persons aboard.
Flying From Travis Base
The four-engine coz, military
version Of the Boeing Strato-
cruiser. left Wake Island Thurs
day afternoon for Tokyo on the
last leg of a flight from Travis
Air Base near San Francisco.
Calf.
The Air Force said 81 passen-
gers and a crew of 10 were
aboard the plane, with the pas
Isengers including 81 Air Force
personnel; II Army and 10 Navy
men; two civilian Government
employees, both men. and wom-
an military dependent. presum-
ably the wife of a serviceman
stationed in Japan.
The crew. which included at
least one woman. all were mem
berS of the Air Force. The plane
was operated by the Military Air
Transport Service.
The planes last reported po-
sition was 200 miles southeast
of the big MATS terminal in
Tokyo at 1915 am. u0:15 am.
EST Thursday. The radio re-
port gave no indication of any
trouble and the plane was ex-
pected in Tokyo on schedule,
two hours later.
No SOS Calls Heard ss
The Air Force said the plane
had enough fuel for only about
l3h2 hours flying past its sched-
uled arrival time.
AS soon as the plane was over
due. a sea and air search was
launched in the predawn dark
ness. Life RATS aboard the plane
were equipped with fares and
flashlights and most RATS a1oa I'd
trans-Paclfic planes carry emer-
gency radio transmitters for
broadcasting SOS signals.
Throughout the day. however,
monitors picked up no distress
calls.
BY nightfall more than 40
planes and ships had Joined in
the search and dozens of Japa-
nese fishing boats were asked to
keep lookout.
The japanese patrol craft
Muroto radioed that it was only
80 miles from the planes last
reported position and had seen
nothing
Travis Air Base announced
the names of seven men and
one woman in the plane crew.
Withholding the names of the
other two crewmen until their
families were notified. Most of
the addresses given were in
towns near the base.
The names announced were:
| Maj. Ards L. Crumpton, the
aircraft commander. Vacaville,
Calf; 1t. Col. Kirk r. Mitchell.
Vacaville; Capt. Ernest K.
Thomas, jr., Fairfield. Calf.
and Providence. r. l.; 1t. James
M. Rosen. Los Angeles; M Sergt.
Donald P. GUNNER, Fairfield:
TlSergt. William G. Cloudy, Fair
field; Miss Carolyn Meyer, air.
man, third class, Gordon, Ga.
and Airman / c Allen Bell, Vaca-
VILE