"MUTINY" IN THE AIR

Shannon News, 13 January 1928, Page 3

"MUTINY" IN THE AIR

STORY OF ATLANTIC FLIGHT. Three times has Mrs. Frances Grayson started the Dawn from the coast of Maine to fly to Denmark, but each time, after an hour's flight, she has returned to her base, engine trouble being given as the reason. Sunday, Octofcer 23, was her third attempt, when she flew 495 miles and thea turned back, explaining that one of the motors broke down.

It now appears that there was "mutiny" of the crew of the Dawn — the first air mutiny on record, says the Washington correspondent of the 'Morning Post.' Tho Dawn, after heading east, was turned west without Mrs. Grayson's knowledge and without her consent.

Mrs Grayson, nominally in com- , mand of the expedition, was accompanied by Brice Goldsborough, navigator, and Wilmer. Stultz, pilot. Neither of the men, nor Mrs. Grayson will. make an explicit statement, but from the little that has been said a physical encounter in the narrow confines of the cabin of the Dawn, then 400 ft above th e Atlantic, was narrowly averted between Goldsborough and, Stultz.

Goldsborough and Mrs. Grayson discovered that instead of flying towards Denmark they were on their way back to Old Orchard Beach, Maine, whence they hopped off. Mrs. Grayson insisted that tho original course must •be resumed, but Stultz paid no heed to the commands or protests and brought the 'plane back to its starting point Stultz explained that he turned the 'plane back when he ran into a thick, soupy fog that shut out all sight of sky or water, and his* altimeter showed he was only 400 feet above the water. One of the motors was not working properly, and both motors were consuming 26 per cent more fuel than was estimated, which would have left them with empty tanks in mid-ocean. There was nothing left except to turn back.