The coastland times with which is combined the pilot and herald of Belhaven and Swan Quarter. [volume] (Manteo, N.C.) 1959-1973, 1961-04-28
TWO DIE INPLANE CRASH
WHILE OBSERVING FOREST
FIRE in TYRRELL COUNTY
Jack Earle. Chief Fores+erfor West Virginia Pulp
Paper Co. and Murray Mann Of Man+eo Die
Following Plane Crash Near Gum Neck in Sud-
den Storm Wednesday Afternoon. While On
Fire Fighting Mission for Company.

N UloW OIL WIG AAScNA Va
of Manteo people when news came
Wednesday evening Of the death
of John D. Earle of Manteo, who
for seven years has been leader
of the Boy Scouts of Roanoke Is
land. and Albert Murray Mann, a
Manns Harbor, 23-year-old budding
commercial pilot, who died when
their light plane, a single-engine
Cessna, crashed in the Gum Neck
vicinity while the men were on a
fire-spotting mission for West Vir-
ginia Pulp & Paper Company.
Jack Earle, AZ, was helping to
direct firefighters who were bat
thing q blaze which had swept
over an estimated 1000 acres of
pine and juniper owned by the
company in Tyrrell County. Mann,
who was employed by w. M. Hen
derson, lessee of the Manteo air
port, was flying Mr.. Earle, while
Mr.. Henderson was flying the COM
pany-owned water-carrying plane
in the vicinity, and had been drop
ping water bombs Tuesday and
Wednesday.
The coming Of a storm from the
northeast caused Mr.. Henderson to
radio to Mann to try to make it
home. What happened is profile
NAUTICAL; perhaps Mann became
confused by the heavy smoke and
lost his bearings. The plane fell
in the swamp, near the company's
shop and airstrip at Gum Neck in
TyrreQ County. Earle was killed
instantly, and Mann died three
hours later after being taken to
Walker Funeral Home in Column
bia, while awaiting a helicopter to
take him to a Norfolk hospital.
Mr.. Earle who came to Manteo
some nine years ago, was chief
forester for the company in North
Carolina, which has large timber
holdings in Dare, Tyrrell and
Washington counties. He was born
in Clarksburg, w. Va, April "a,
1914 and had just passed his 47th
birthday. He was the son of Mrs.
Resale Kelsey Earle of Miami,
Fla, and the late Guy H. Earle, and
his wife is the former Elizabeth
Steele. He is also survived by
two children, John D. and Mary
Elizabeth; by two brothers, Guy
H. Earle, Jr. of Napier, Mich, and
Commander L. D. Earle of Haddon-
field, N. ]. and Robert S. Earle Of
Weston, w. Va.
Besides his long service in be-
half Of the Boy Scouts, he was a
vestryman of St. Andrews Blythe
Sea Episcopal Church of Mays
Head, former lay reader; and was
an active member of the PTA in
Manteo. He was a major in the
Army Reserve.
Murray Mann, native of Manns
Harbor, was the son of Edwin
Huff and Ozella Midget Mann,
who survive him. He is also sur
vive by his wife, the former Nancy
Payne, and by two small children,
Edwin Haven and William Murray;
by a brother, Ormond Lee Mann
of Wanchese, and two sisters, Mrs.
Sylvia Lee Gray of Stumpy Point,
and Maggie Mae Mann of Manns
Harbor. He was a member of Mt.
Carmel Methodist Church Of
Manns Ha1:bor. He had been en-
ployed about four years by Mr..
Henderson at the Manteo Airport.
,Tyrrell County Coroner Jake
Walker said the cause Of the crash
was unknown.
The fire started some eight
miles south of Columbia on a
$50, 000-acre tract owned by the
company, and famed by strong
southwest winds had covered about
1000 acres. w. ]. Crumpacker,
the company manager, had assem-
bled about 80 firefighters, and was
rounding up more men, and had
called for state forces to aid in
combating the blaze. Some relief
was brought by the rain and shift
of wind to the northeast Wednes-
day evening. Another fire consid-
cred serious was reported not far
away, near Pantego in Beaufort
County.