Show Toll of Ten Deaths Given jV j As Reason of President 1 f V F For r Ordering Reduction 11 Ship Dives In Into o Fj Field FeId ld Near Cheyenne and Bursts I Into Flames I PILOTS KILLED INSTANTLY Vi ViI I I Iti Half ti lf of Army's 10 1 0 Fatalities at in Salt Lake Area i iThe The fledgling army airmail Saturday Saturday Satur Satur- day r recorded corded a death toll o of ot 10 as the result of the crash of two t fliers liers In a Salt Lake bound plane at Cheyenne Wyo Friday night The two men kl killed 1 d i instantly when their observation ship plunged n o oa a fie field d and bur burned ed a mile jle from the tile Cheyenne airport were were Second Lieutenant Lieu tenant Frank L. L Howard 27 7 of M March li field ld Riverside C Cal l. l and and Second See Sec ond onI Lieutenant Arthur R K Kerwin 28 of Barksdale Barkdale field Shreveport La TI Their deaths deaths brou brought ht to five Jive the arm army a airmail fatalities in hi in inthe the Salt Lake ne Lin in less lesi than a month of operations Lieutenants How Howard rd and Kerwin who had been stationed in Salt Lake I Ionly only a 3 few days since transfers from their home fields had not yet y flown the mail Their ill fated flight was wasa a practice one to tl acquaint quaint them with the Salt Lake Cheyenne enne route ITh Thy They y left lelL the Salt Lake airport Friday Fri day morning and then took off at 7 p. p m. m for the return trip Bursts Bunts Into Flame Four minutes later the plane an im open opell cockpit type dived into a pasture pasture pas pas- ture on ori the farm of or Oscar Lamm about a a. amile mile from the starting point The craft craU immediately caught fire and the bodies were burned beyond recognition The seeming failure of the motor in ina a virtually v ne new plane was vas vas' ie regarded ar led tad today a as the probable cause of the crash That the engine of or the observation biplane was not functioning normally I just prior to the crash was vas unofficial i ly attested by a number of civilian s and at least tw two eyewitnesses eyewitnesses eye witnesses of the Motor 1 er Sputtering nc Some witnessed said the they believed the plane touched a power line Jine and then turned A halt half loop However the power er line was not broken Army officials officials' declined to comment on the accident f. f A number of oC persons were attracted by the noise the plane made as it headed west from Cheyenne and they Continued on PUP Pap Two ot TWO AVIATORS A VIA TORS DIE IN CRASH Ship Dives Into Field Near Cheyenne and Bursts Into Flames I Continued Cl from Pace Pare One said the motor was sputtering The fliers the witnesses es said apparently turned and tried to return to-return return to the airport airport air air- port when the motor trouble devel devel- op d. d When I 1 heard the motor sputtering sputtering sputter ing I ran out of ot my house and watched watch d the ship Frank Clark Cheyenne automobile automobile au au- au dealer said I 1 thought for lor fora lora a moment it was going to strike my house Then it plunged into the earth and burst into flames Other witnesses c called the Cheyenne Cheyenne Chey Chey- enne fire department to extinguish the flames lames but the first to arrive were driven back by the heat Th The motor seemed to be In good condition despite the terrific impact and this fact tact was expected to aid Inan in inan inan an investigation immediately ordered by Captain Bernard T. T Castor commander com corn mander of ot the route the dispatch said Inquiry Board Named Captain Castor named an army board of inquiry including Lieutenant Ralph Snavely operations officer Lieutenant Robert F. F Tate engineering engineer engineer- ing officer and a light flight surgeon from roin Denver Captain L. L A. A Walthall public relations rela rein officer at zone ione headquarters in Salt Lake described the accident as baffling both pilots were experienced and had several hundred hours in the air The attitude altitude of the army pilots in undertaking their dangerous assignment assign ment was refi reflected in one of ot the last conversations Lieutenant Kerwin had with his il mates mate at Ch Cheyenne yenne an Associated As Press dispatch said He said be he was fearful there would be several e early fatalities among the mail mall carriers carders during night flights because be cause of ot unfamIlIarity with routes Its our duty to go out though the dispatch quoted him and when we know the way better things will beaU be beaU beall aU all right Born In Montana Lieutenant Howard who was at the controls was attached to the Seventh bombardment group at March field Lieutenant Kerwin was a member o othe of the Twentieth pursuit group at Barksdale Barksdale Barks Barks- dale field Lieutenant Howard was born at Big Timber Mont on January 16 1907 He was graduated from West Point in 1932 and joined the air corps finishing finishing finish finish- ing a training course at Kelly field Texas S on October 14 1933 Li Lieutenant Kerwin was born in San Francisco on December 7 1905 He was graduated from West Point In 1931 commissioned a second lieutenant lieuten ant of at infantry and detailed to the air corps He finished the advanced course at Kelly field on October 14 1932 The Their t bodies were taken from the wreck two hours bours after alter the crash and removed to a Cheyenne mortuary Mother Prostrated By Sons Son's Death BIG TIMBER Mont March 10 i JP Stunned by the tragic death of t he her herson son Lieutenant F. F L. L H Howard ward 27 27 in inthe inthe inthe the crash last lust night of ot an army mall mail plane at Cheyenne Mrs Amelia Howard Howard How How- ard today was under the care of phy No one was permitted to sc see ace her Lieutenant Howard was an ar only child and two years ago his father fathera a prominent business man died |