Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1962-03-16


Weather was excellent and the
sea normal.
Four Women in Crew
The Super Constellation car
ried a crew Of II Americans,
SO United States Army person
mel and 3 South Wet Namese,
Travis Air Force base in Cali
fornia said. Four women were
among the crew.
Military sources in Saigon
assumed the troops were due to
bolster the American forces
backing South Wet Mans gov
eminent in its war against the
Communist Wet Cong guerril-
las. Notification of the loss of
the plane would make the
troops indirect casualties of
that struggle.
The loss of all aboard also
would mark the third worst
disaster in aviation history in
volving a single plane.
This is the second recent in
cident involving United States
servicemen flying on chartered
planes.
-Four months ago an Imperial
Airlines plane chartered for q
troop movement crashed near
Richmond, Va, killing IA re-
cruits.
Is Planes in Search
Fifteen aircraft based at
Guam launched the hunt for
the Flying Tiger plane. Spread
over a 100-mile front, they flew
$50 miles westward-to a point
about midway between Guam
and the Philippines-and then
retraced their course eastward.
The plane took off from
Guam at 1857 pm. last night
carrying fuel for about nine
hours flying for the 1,6O0-mile,
eight-hour hop to Clark Air
Force Base. north of Manila.
1t was last heard from 80 min
utes later when the pilot sent
Q routine radio message to
Guam from about 270 miles
west of that American island
base.
Task Force Marshaled
The Clark field rescue CO.
ordinating center declared the
airliner missing this morning.
A United States Navy spokes-
man said it was believed the
plane went down closer to
Guam than to the Philippines.
United States bases in the
Western Pacific marshaled a
task force of surface ships and
Air Force, Navy. Marine and
Coast Guard planes.
Seven ships led by the de-
Stroyer escort Brister and IS
aircraft were dispatched from
Guam. Clark Field, the United
States 7th Fleet and the Air
Force at Okinawa sent addi-
tional planes.
The searchers secured an
ocean area stretching $50 miles
west Of Guam and 100 miles
wide along the transport planes
scheduled route. Cloudless skies
and calm seas were reported in
their search area.
The airliner, piloted by Capt.
Gregory P. Thomas of Red
Bank, N. j., left Travis base in
northern California Tuesday.
Travis is often the originating
point for troops being ferried
across the Pacific by plane.
Flying Tiger is often the carrier.
Guam is a regular refueling
stop.
Pilot Veteran Altman
Military sources in Saigon
said the plane was due in South
Wet Nam this morning. It was
assumed in the Wet Namese
capital that the military per-
sonnel aboard the plane were
to join U. S. forces bolstering
the South Wet Nam govern
ment's fight against the Com
munist Wet Cong guerrillas.
Capt. Thomas, the 48-year-
old pilot, was described as a
veteran commercial and mill
tary airman with IL years serv-
ice with Flying Tiger who had
distinguished himself as hero
in a plane mishap in 1857.
A plaque on his yacht-home
at Red Bank cites him for
exceptionally meritorious con-
duct and professional achieve
ments in performance of his
duties as pilot in command of