FATAL PLUNGE

Taranaki Central Press, Volume IV, Issue 380, 11 March 1937, Page 2

FATAL PLUNGE

ELEVEN LIVES LOST SAN FRANCISCO CRASH. (By Air Mail). Sen Francisco, February 17. The pilot tried desperately to avert the fatal plunge in the San Francisco Bay of the United Air Line’s luxury airliner, reportedly crippled by “exhaust trouble.” There were dramatic highlights of testimony given before a Federal board of inquiry in Oakland, seeking a cause of the tragedy that took 11 lives. Other developments by testimony were: The pilot had to make a forced landing through motor trouble just after a take off at Oakland airport on a prior occasion. Construction work at the Mills Field, San Francisco’s municipal air port, prompts pilots to take extra care in landing there. It was just off Mills Field, within a minute or two of safe landing, that the air liner dived into the bay. The belief that the pilot of the illfated ’plane strove desperately to lift the ship out of its dive was expressed by Ben Smith, assistant airport manager. "I heard two sounds two seconds apart—both crash sounds—when the plane hit the water,” he said. “It wasn’t a splash or zoom, but more nf a roar like thunder—as if the pilot had been ‘gunning’ the motor just before the crash. There was no indication of motor trouble as the plane sped over the field, but the motors seemed to cut off as the pilot started down the ‘glide path’ toward the field, then dropped behind the dikes. Ingold Testifies. Ernest Ir-olfi, Pan Francisco automobile dealer, testified he was waiting rt the main Burlingame depot to take a Southern Pacific train south when he heard a ’p’ane almost directly overhead, at approximately 8.53 p.m. (The luxurv airliner plunged into the bay several minutes after that). ‘.‘Something about the roar of this particular ’Plane attracted my attention.” Ingold said. “The motors had a steady drone, but it seemed he was having manifold trouble —a loose manifold, by the sound of the exhaust." Two air companions of A. R. ("Tommy”) Thompson, pilot of the ill-starred liner, lauded the flyer's ability, and told of precautions always taken in landing a ship at Mills Field because of “diggings and construction work.” In natty olive green uniforms, they literally came out of the air to testify, then hurried from the hearing to Oakland airport to pilot a liner on a scheduieed trip to Los Angeles. The first, E. F. Kiessig, 27, of Burbank. a veteran pilot of nearly eight years’ experience and for four years on United Air Lines’ San FranciscoLos Angeles run, said he* has had 60 hours’ experience with the DC-3, the big Douelas snper-plenes. It was one of the DC-3 ’planes, last word in air transport lust a month in service on the ’inn that crashed In the bay. Kiessig testified in a c.ool. steady voice, never hesitant with answers. He said that Thomnson and his copilot. Joseph Decesaro, "functioned like a unit.” Time of Plunge. v*-> exact time of “flight 23’s” tragic plunge into the hoy was fixed on the airport 10" ®t c s° p.m.. Mr Theodore P Martin, in the control tower at the time testified. The iov with these entries, was Introduced In the record: "B.*4—Flight 23 asked information Told pilot to land south to north "8 47—Pilnt said he wanted to land

east to w''st. I said. ‘Ok°h’ ” Then Mr Martin said the plane came over the field at 400 ft altitude, headed over the bay, made a “sharp turn toward the San Mateo bridge at a 45 degree angle, the tail lights vanished and then —a loud zoom!” Four other United Airlines’ pilots testified that Pilot Thompson was “above average” as a flyer. Efforts to recover the missing right wing and right motor were spurred ■(rhen Major Schroeder declared the inouiry could not be completed until they had been examined.