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Show WYOMING MEN TESTIFY IN CRASHPROBE Plane Flying Low; Radio Reception And Weather Bad SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Oct. 27 (U.R) Five Wyoming ranchers said today that a plane circled, apparently lost, over their homes in the hills near the Wyoming-Utah border bor-der through a terrific storm on the night that a United Airliner plane crashed in the Uinta mountains killing 19 persons. per-sons. They testified during the second sec-ond day of a department of commerce com-merce hearing into the crash. Discredit Claim Federal men conducting the hearing, however, were inclined to discredit the ranchers' statements state-ments in commenting on the testimony testi-mony after the hearing had recessed re-cessed until later today, Even a person familiar with motors cannot tell during such a storm which direction an airplane is going or exactly where it is, said E. L. Yuravich, one of the federal men conducting the inquiry. in-quiry. Radio reception in the area over which the plane was reported was almost completely ruined by static on the night of the crash, it was testified. The ranchers, residents of Fort Bridger and Mountain View, Wyo., small town east of the crash scene and on the air route which the lost United plane followed, testified to hearing motors of a plane' ovt;r their homes, about 9 p. m. Oct. 17, date of the crash. Will H. Thomas, Mountain View, said a plane circled his home "Two or three" times and then the sound of motors died away in a westerly direction. "The plane was very low," he said. "I wouldn't have noticed it especially except that it wasn't following the usual course. I told my wife the plane must be-lost." Mrs. Frances Fillm ,Fort Bridger, Bridg-er, said that from 8:30 to 10 o'clock her radio set was useless because of static. Harry Pfisterer, Fort Bridger rancher, corroborated corroborat-ed her testimony. Mechanic Saw Plane Only witness" to claim he had seen the plane was Ed Olsen, Fort Bridger mechanic. The plane, flying fly-ing very low, passed over his home at about 8:30 p. m. coming from the southeast, he said. After ft crossed his property, it appeared appear-ed to change its course for the southwest, he said. Its motors were functioning per- fectly, he believed. The weather was "as bad as I've seen it in years," Joe Birleffi, Fort Bridger, testified. First witness to be called was C. W. Larson, communications superintendent for the bureau of air commerce. He testified that a test of radio beams on the route made on Oct. 19, two days after the crash, showed the beams were in perfect working order and correctly cor-rectly aligned. No Ice On M ings Members of the party of six men who, led by Ralph Johnson, United Airlines pilot, were first to reach the plane wreck, testified testi-fied as to condition of the plane when they found it. Johnson said there was no ice on the plane's wings when he reached it. Charley Stahley, Wyoming Wyo-ming rancher, who accompanied the search party, declared that in his opinion the weather during the 24 hours that elapsed between the crash and the party's arrival, was such that had ice formed on the plane it would have remained unmelted. |