BLOWN TO PIECES

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXXVII, Issue 19632, 28 October 1933, Page 22

BLOWN TO PIECES

AMERICAN AIR MAIL CRASH DUE TO EXPLOSIVES. CHICAGO, October 18. The United Airlines ’plane, which crashed while crossing Indiana on Tuesday night, killing seven people, was literally blown in halves by high explosives. This was announced by David Colyer, vice-president of United Airlines, following the Department of Justice investigation. What kind of bomb caused the destruction of the plane, and whether it was a liquid or solid explosive, probably never will be known, but indications are that explosive was stored in the cargo space aft. The passenger section and rear section, were torn apart high in the air, and five passengers perished when the plane caught fire on striking the ground. It is not yet possible to trace why the explosive was aboard the plane,” said Mr Colyer, who added that the unmistakeable evidence of the cause of the disaster came after a microscopic examination of particles of metal and cloth, found in the debris after the smash. The tail of the plane was found intact, where it had been blown off ,a mile and a quarter distant from the main wreckage, and two unburned bodies lay alongside the tall. With the toil gone, the plane became uncontrollably nose-heavy, and dived to the earth. Eye-witnesses also testified that the first crash of the explosion occurred high in the air. but no flames intervened until the forward part of the plane hit the earth. Experts testified that a petrol explosion could not have caused the type of damage encountered.