THIRTEEN DEAD.

Taranaki Central Press, Volume IV, Issue 393, 27 March 1937, Page 5

THIRTEEN DEAD.

AEROPLANE DISASTERS Dive from 2100 Feet. Press Association —Copyright. Pittsburgh, March 25. A transport plane with ten passengers and a crew of three crashed near Pittsburgh to-day as it Was prepiaring to land at the airport. All the occupants are dead. Residents in the neighbourhood said ‘hat they heard the motors fail. Five bodies have been removed from the wreckage. The plane crashed nose first into a gully near the highway. The wings and tail were intact, but the cabin was splintered. The cause of the crash has not yet been determined. At first it was attribued to heavy fog and smoke, but the president of the Air Line said that the ceiling wan 2400 feet and the plane had an altitude of 2100 feet before it dived. The victims -were mostly gales l executives of oil, insurance and publishing companies. Mr. H. S. Griest saiefc, “My wife and I were motoring along the road when the plane hit head first, less than 50 feet in front of us. We parked and ran to the wreck The first think we noticed was a woman’s hand sticking out of the •Wreckage. There was smoke but no fire. We litfed one side of the smashed cabin and began to remove I the bodies, which were mangled and the faces crushed.”

GIANT CAPRICORNUS. Press Association —Copyright. London, March 15. Flying-Officer G. E. Klein, who was killed when the Imperial Airways’ giant flying-boat Capricornus crashed on her maiden voyage, 35 miles north of Lyons 1 , France, was a son of Mr> J. Klein, Director of Education in Western Australia. He was killed on the first anniversary of his wedding. He had had considerable flying experience, and was aged 29. The flying-boat’s freight included £ll,OOO worth ol gold bullion. In addition it carried 65 bags of mail for all destinations along the route to Australia. They are intact, and will be forwarded in a few days. The Capricornus cost £40,000. The Capricornus left Southampton at 11 a.m., planning to alight on the River Saone, at Macon, 30 miles from the scene of the disaster, but she encountered bad weather while following the usual route across Europe. Apparently she was flying blind when the crash occurred. It was probably due to the formation of ice and snow on the wings.

Mr. J. L. Cooper, the wireless operator. although injured, struggled through the snow to la lonely farmhouse, where he gave the alarm

Farm-carts were immediately sent to the scene and 'the bodies were taken to an improvised chapel of rest in the village hall of Ouroux and Miss Coates, the only passenger. Was taken to hospital. She died' later.

The Capricornus dug ruts 350 yards long in the mountainside. The three engines were torn off, but .the plane did not catch fire.