Tornado May Have Caused Air Tragedy

Chronicle (Levin), 31 August 1948, Page 5

Tornado May Have Caused Air Tragedy

Received Tuesday, 11 a.m. NEW YORK, Aug. 30. An airliner with 36 passengers aboard, crashed into a 500-foot hill near Winona, Minnesota, at dusk tonight, while on a flight from Chicago to Minneapolis. ' All aboard were killed. Eight bodies so far have been foimd but the wreckage is scattered over a mile in area and the recovery of the remaining bodies may be delayed until morning. The aircraft ran into a violent storm that ripped through southeastern Minnesota, uprooting trees and causing widespread damage. The aircraft was a twin-engined short-range transport which is a new type specia-lly designed for postwar travel. An eye-witness said the airliner burst Irom the clouds in heavy rain at full throttle. It looked as if it was trying to gain altitude to climb over the hill, then made a complete turn, cleared two smaller hills and roafed crazily into a third hill. The slieriff of St. Paul, Mr. Henry Rhyner, said he believed that a tornado hit the airliner. He said that eye-witness accounts indi-j cated that the tornado was just starting to dip towards the earth when it struck the aircraft, smashing it against a ridge.