Fortress Hits Peak

Northern Advocate, 16 June 1947, Page 5

Fortress Hits Peak

(Rec. 11 a.m.) NEW YORK, June 15. Flying in fog and rain a Super Fortress crashed into the IGOOft peak of Hawk’s Mountain, Springfield, Vermont, early on Saturday morning. The machine was on an army training flight from Pittsburgh to Bedford (Massachusetts). It was about 90 miles off course when the crash occurred and possibly was seeking an emergency landing field because of bad weather in Massachusetts.

After hitting the mountain it exploded, hurtled into a ravine a few hundred feet belpw and burst into flames.

Rescuers dragged four charred bodies from the wreckage. Army authorities state the death roll is 'll men. Eight bodies were found in the wreckage. They were so burned, mangled and scattered that an accurate count was difficult. 50 KILLED OUTRIGHT The wreckage of a Skymaster which crashed with 50 persons on board was found this morning on the top of Blue Ridge Mountain, Leesburg, Virginia. A search party found no survivors. The plane had failed by less than 100 ft to clear the crest of a mountain spur. Bodies were scattered in a wide circle around the wreckage.

The passengers included a honeymoon couple, a baby of 10 months, and a 17-year-old girl who was making her first flight as a gift from her parents. The pilot of the plane had been flying for 26 years. A routine “All’s well’ was sent when the airliner was less than 20 minutes flying time from Washington. The weather bureau reported rain in the general area of the crash at the time, but said the weather was not too severe. Visibility apparently was good. This is the second worst commercial airline disaster in American history. Fifty-three people were killed on May 30 in a Skymaster crash in Maryland and 43 ip a Skymaster which crashed at La Guardia airport, New York, on May 29The Associated Press says reports are current in aviation circles that the Government intends to take immediate drastic action in an effort to stop airline crashes. Board Of Inquiry

In Washington today, President Truman, expressing “deep concern” at recent plane crashes, appointed a board of five experts to inquire into air safety. The chairman will be Mr James Landis, chairman of the Civil Aeronautics Board.

Mr Truman instructed the experts to study mechanical and human factors in the safe operation of aircraft, to determine how the results of investigations into the recent series of accidents could be used to advance air safety, and to consider how new equipment already predictable might be keyed to mechanical aids and human capabilities. He added that the board’s findings would help him .to determine what further steps should be taken to assure the highest degree of safety. Indo-China Crash . . .

(Rec. 11.30 a.m.) PARIS, June 15. A Junkers aircraft crashed on the Saigon-Dalat route yesterday, according to despatches from Indo-China. Ten were killed, including four children, and two are seriously burned and unlikely to live.