Salt Lake Telegram | 1932-06-14 | Page 20 | Captain Tells How Flier Was Sighted, Saved

CAPTAIN TELLS HOW FLIER WAS SIGHTED SAVED SA VED Ship Arrived as Plane Was Ready to Founder in Brewing Storm D By CAPTAIN JAMES WILLIAM WILSON l 1 Master r of at the S. S S. S Circe Shell S. S S S. S CIRCE SHELL June 14 aIm IP JP Im Im Stanley Hausner save my ship With these words the thc Polish flier lier who had drifted miles on the thc Atlantic on his wrecked airplane greeted us when we found him He literally fell feU into the lifeboat which we had lowered to fetch him and he was helped aboard my m- ship in almost complete darkness Thanks very much captain Ive I've been wa waiting tins for you for eight days das he said Then he collapsed He almost missed l being rescued for the darkness was falling rapidly LOOKED LIKE BUOY It was very verl difficult to see sec but the lookout on the Circe Shell sighted something ahead It looked like a drifting buo buoy but he could make out some peculiar markings on the top He picked up his long glass and trained it on the object He Hc saw then what he had thought was a buoy was really an airplane with its tail sticking sticking stick stick- ing a up in the air i Right away when he had told me what he saw I stepped to the engine room worn telegraph and signaled my en engineer engineer engineer en- en to cut the speed We slowed down and moved closer We got to within one mile of the derelict dere liet and then I stopped the ship We drifted and slowly closed in My men watching from the rail were amazed to see the fi figure ure o of a aman aman aman i man which seemed to be lashed to the machine We blew a blast on the ships ship's siren and the figure moved He waved frantically We could see now that he was not lashed down Right away I ordered a lifeboat awa away It was manned b by volunteers under my second officer From the bridge I watched them row away When they were about 50 feet from the airplane they hailed him and the flier lier answered in inEn En- En gUsh glish SEA WAS ROUGH There was a rough sea running and It was getting worse and we were afraid the airplane might founder at any moment But my men were able to reach it itIn itIn itin In time to take off oIl the exhausted aviator Almost all aU of ot my Chinese crew had gathered at the rail in the excitement excitement ex ex- to greet the unexpected flier filer when he was taken aboard It was 45 minutes after the first sighting and night had fallen I endeavored endeavored endeavored en en- to obtain a coherent statement statement statement state state- ment from him as soon as he showed signs of ot revival but his exhausted condition made this unfeasible I Therefore we contented ourselves I with supplying Hausner with his im immediate immediate irn-I irn mediate necessities of water and food An examination revealed only superficial superficial super super- cuts bruises and sores all external external external ex ex- injuries and none of them se se- se rious At the time of my sending this radio radio ra ra- ra dio the airman is progressing He did not sustain any obvious internal injuries but continues seemingly seemingly seem seem- incapable of discussing his ex ex- It was amazingly fortunate we en encountered encountered encountered countered him at the time we did as by midnight the weather had turned haz hazy and four hours later a dense fog set in Even when he was first sighted the was falling falling falling fall fall- ing the sk sky was overcast and ViSibility visibility visibility ity was decreasing