Salt Lake Telegram | 1922-04-07 | Page 1 | London-Paris Air Expresses Crash Headon

LONDON-PARIS . AIR EXPRESSES (ISHJEADON Two Pilots, Three Passengers Passen-gers and One Mechanic Die in First Accident of Aerial Passenger Route HURTLE TO EARTH IN FLAMING WRECK CreaFMachines Come-Together Over Village of Thieulloy, Seventy Miles North of French Capital PARIS, April T (By Associated Press). The Paris and London aerial expresses collided In midslr this afternoon over the village of Thieulloy, Thieul-loy, eeventy miles north of Parle. The pilots of both airplanes, three passengers and one mechanlo were r killed In wreckage that fell flaming to the ground. V The French airplane, piloted by Aviator Mire, aided by a mechanic was carrying three passengers. It left Lebourdet. In the environs of Paris, at noon for London. The British airplane, which left Croydon In the London area thla morning, carried ' mall and was manned only by a pilot. The passengers In the Paris were M. Bourles, M. and Mme. Julian Brual. The British machine, piloted by Aviator Duke, had been in use only three daya on the expreaa route. It belonged be-longed to a new company operating a Paris-London service. The accident occurred during a fog. the pilots aeelng each other too late to avoid a collision. Five persons from the machines were dead when Inhabitants of the village of Thieulloy arrived on tho scone, shortly after the crash, and tha sixth victim was dying. The aerial express service between London and Paris was started In the spring of 11 and has come to be regarded re-garded se one of the dependable meana of transportation between the two capitals. At first only patronized by travelers of an adventuroue turn of mind who wanted to have the thrill of air travel, It has developed within the laat two yeara. with tne element of danger reduced to the minimum. Into a steady dally routaa The trip la made In a little more than two hours and at least half the passengers have been women. USED BY OFFICIALS. Prominent officiala have frequently availed themselves of the air routs to attend hastily called confereneee In either Parla or London. During the . peace conference I Bonar Law of the British delegatea made hurried trips, bsck to London to attend to routine official business, often returning the same day. King Albert and Queen Kllsabeth of Belgium have also been passengers. These luxurious air Pullmans carry ten or twelve persona In large comfort-. comfort-. able chairs. Each seat haa a separate porthole through which the passenger Oan view the landscape. The aerial fare haa steadily decreased de-creased since large numbers of passengers passen-gers have taken to this form of travel, and round trip tickets cost about $0. COMMERICALLY USEFUL. Another and Incidental development of the air service hss been the amount of merchandise carried. Each plane hss a certain carrying capacity for goods, and Paria dressmakers frequently deliver de-liver gowns In London In this way. Recently Re-cently a load of prlxe plga was brought from London to Parle by air express and many dogs have also made the trip. Collisions between airplanes were not unusual during the war when flocks of machines were moving swiftly In a comparatively circumscribed area. The meeting In midair of these two aerial expresses, however, almost Inconceivably Inconceiv-ably traversing the very same air channel out of the virtually Innumerable Innumer-able ones svailable. cbnstltutes one of the most remarkable happenings In the history of aviation. PREVIOUS ACCIDENT. Only once before today's collision has there been a fatal accident in this service. ser-vice. This occurred In December, 1920, more than a year after the service was Inaugurated, when a big air liner, just as It waa leaving Crirklewood. near London, fouled a tree and crashed to the ground In flames, killing the pilot, hla mechanician and two paesengers.