66 DIE IN CRASH

Press, Volume XCII, Issue 27736, 13 August 1955, Page 7

66 DIE IN CRASH

Transport Planes Collide STUTTGART, August 11. Two huge American troop, carriers collided in mid-air today and dived into a wood, killing all M men on board. Helpers who rushed towards the flaming wreckage in an attempt to pull out some .of the bodies were driven back by the flames. The ergsh happened 30 milps west of Stuttgart The disaster occurred in a flight of nine aeroplanes which had taken off leas than 15 minutes before from. Echterdlngen airfield on a training mission. -. One aircraft developed engine trouble after reaching a cruising level of 4000 ft It momentarily lost altitude, then climbed up. abruptly in front of another aircraft in the formation. They collided and the crippled plane went down immediately. The second' aircraft flew .level for almost a minute, then went out of control and .dived to the ground. Both were Cll9 Flying Box-car twin-engined troop carriers with seating for 87. The first to crash had 41 soldiers on board, an Air Force crew of five and a ‘‘loadmaster.’’ The second was carrying 14. passengers, a crew of six and a “loadmaster.” Vast Fall of Smoke Fire engines raced with screaming sirens from surrounding villages to the wood, which had caught fire. A vast black pall of smoke hung over the whole district Mr Heinz Neuntale, a police official at Altensteig, a village three miles from the scene of the crash, said: “A blaze of flame and a cloud of smoke immediately went up from the wood where the aeroplanes crashed. Police, firemen, foresters and farmers rushed to the spot on foot, on bicycles and in cars. They found blazing and smouldering wreckage scattered over the area of several hundred square yards where the first aeroplane fell, he said. “It was as if the aeroplane had , disintegrated. Parts of bodies and i equipment were flung far and wide.” The second plane fell intact, plough- . Ing a wide .sweep into the wood. It burst into flames immediately. . Helpers were driven back by the in- ; tense heat. Within an hour, six helicopters from r Stuttgart had appeared with rescue teams, but they were unable to do - anything except pick up the pieces c of wreckage. t Tonight, fire brigades were sti)l . fighting a desperate battle to put out 5 the blaze, which had also set fire to - the trees.