Divers Recover Bodies Of Further Victims Of U.S. Air Tragedy

Chronicle (Levin), 3 November 1949, Page 5

Divers Recover Bodies Of Further Victims Of U.S. Air Tragedy

' Received Thursday, 1'0 *a.tn. - ■ • - ; ' , . W.ASHINGTO-N, KeV, 2. y/ v Divers searchmg' tlie waters of the Potomac River today , rec'overed mpre hodaes of vdctims ;of the greatest uomfmercial aviatiou tragedy in United States history. The bodies of-46- ef: the 55 victims had been recovered 24 honrs after the coffisi'o'n ■between the Douglas passenger transport and the figh'ter plane pi'loted by Eric Rios, of Bolivia, who w-as the sole survivor. He suifered internal injuries -and possibly a fractursd spine.. ,\,.i i Civil Aeronautics Assoeiation officials interviewed Rios atthe hospital, but did not tell him the airliner had crashed, killing all -aboard. Rios asked anxiously whether^the era'sh had. • injured ethers besides himself. He did not know what k'ind ofj a plane he hit, he said. He did not see the other plane and lest: consciousness when his plane crashed into the water. !

The United Press 'says Bolivians regard Rios as the Lindherg of Latin America. He 'came to North America several months ago to attend the Intemational Aviatron I Conference in Montreal, and since then has been studying United States aviation under tlie State De0 partment. The fighter he was flying was one of two he ibought for the Bolivian Governmeht. He was making a final test flight before flying it to Bolivia. One of his outstanding achievements occurred three years ago when he flew a transport plane into a water-covered field in the Bolivian flood area -and brought out a loa'd of 140 children who were in danger. • Hundreds of horrified spectators saw the airliner and the fighter plane plunge to earth after colliding about 300 feet above the gronnd. The only known survivor five hours afte'r the collision was the Bolivian pilot of the fighter plane. The airliner plunged to the edge of the Botomac River and skidded down the embankmenf into muddy water. The fighter plane disappeared in the river. ° Big pieces of wreekage were strewn for hundreds of yards, and the bodies were hurled over 150 feet along the shore. Clothing and other personal effects were picked from trees -and bushes.

Eas'tern Airiines. owners of th'e air- ■; liner,-said the passengers inclnded Re-j ■ presentative George Bates ■(Republi-. can, Massachusetts), and Helen Ho.p-; kinson, cartoonist for the New Yorlter magazine. Airport control tower officials saia the Bolivian pilot (Eric Rios) radio-, ed for landing instr.uetions. _ He was, told to eircle the field and land after; the airliner. The tower operators' were unable to make out Rios' repty as he did tiot speak gEnglish fluently. Rios began flying in for a direet land-' ing while the horrified. operators' shouted "turn left, turn left" into the microphone, but it was too late. The fighter * plane rammed the -airliner, sheared off its tail, and both planes then plunged to earth. Rios, who is Bolivia 's Director-Gen- . eral of Civil Aviation, was rescued by . an air force sergeant who dived into the water fully clothed. W-hen the, reseuers reached the airliner wreekage the only sound of life was the moan-, ing of an nnconscious man who died ; before he could be removed to hospital. Today 's collision was surpassed in the United States only by the destrue-. tion of the navy dirigible Akron off the New Jersey coast on April 4, 1935,. when 77 were killed. This was the worst air disaster on record. The previous highest number of deaths in American plane tragedies was 53 in three separate crashes during the past two years.