Show Great rea t A Airship O Disaster A rouses Officials t TWISTED TISTED STEE STEEL STEEL- TO BE or fir BIG Langley Field FJeld Officer S Says ys Cause of Wreck in Which 34 Men Lost Liv Lives s Will Rem Remain in Mystery BY JAMES T. T KOLBERT C United Press Staff Correspondent Correspondent- NORFOLK Va Feb 22 Arm Army air air- ir r service experts experts today put ur under underway ex way w y their investigation to determine the U e cause of the disaster to the American airship Roma Rem in which thirty four t were killed and eleven Injured r. t I Stark and flame seared the twisted twisted- steel skeleton that skeleton that had been the queen of ot American skies lay near the N Norfolk Nor Nor- r- r folk talk mud flats fiats fl ts today Its charred red r remains re remains re- re mains con concealing many many of ot the secrets the e air service experts wili seek to probe None will ever lm know w what caused her t to collapse one oi officer c r lr from m Lagg- Lagg La W- W ley field told the United Press Practically every eVeryone one of ot the ih thirtyfour thirty thirty- four tour victims was burned to death officers of of- of and physicians said today Most of f the tho bodies bodis were Identified by y trinkets COURT OF INQUIRY I M Major j r Gene General l Patrick Patrick chief of the army air service Washington Washingto w on n 1 the ground today with an army court court j I of inquiry to determine J the blames While the court will r require several several- 1 days days' to complete its nhe n was hat tH the 1 b be r exonerated and the cause of t the cra h reported as unknown The consensus of o opinion i ion is that Captain D. D L. L Mabry comm commander of the Roma toma In making the turn over the thear ar army Y base failed to allow for tor the In Increased Increased increased in- in creased power The ru rudder der broke broko Under th the Int t. t the controls This occurred d' d at t tei a height e ei ht estimated at feet teet The Romas Roma's nose nose pointed down and Lieutenant Burt at the elevation level tugged desi desperately desperately des des- i to straighten the sip She Sho refused to respond and he yell yelled d at Captain n Mabry to shut off the motors They were shut ot off one by one In the meantime the h helpless giant sagged rapidly nose pointing down at atan atan an angle of ot 45 degrees Two score feet j from the ground the nose pass dover a half dozen high tension wires tension wires tearIng tearing tear tear- Ing them to fragments A second later the dirigible thrust her nose Into a a. mass of steel billets machine parts and scrap iron and collapsed on on- its living freight A few tew seconds more and angl the te j fire ignited by the twisting serpents j I of ot flame from the volt 2500 elec electric io I wires swept the wreckage x FLAMES SHOOT OUT A great sheet of ot flame shot from the huge gas bag leaping high Into the air and driving away hway the sc res of ot soldiers soldiers soldiers sol sol- sol sol- diers and civilians who r rushed shed she'd t to the h rescue rescue Unable to approach the pyre pyre the rescuers turned in a fire tire alarm and I I then picked up Lieutenant who ho had jumped dumped from the machine machine- just be before before ber be- be r fore she struck th the wires He hadI had I failed to open his parachute and andI crashed into a a. mass of ot metal He died I on the way to the hospital I When the fire was extinguished a I dozen charred bodies were were found tangled led in the skeleton I The rest of the bodies were held fasti fast fast fast- i u under der the ship and a derrick Yas was us used to lift the giant frame before these theae I could bo be released t Few of ot the survivors could recall to today today to- to I day the e incidents leading up to th the C col col- col lI l- l lapse Lieutenant Welsh and Major Reardon Reardon Reardon Rear- Rear I don were in the forward cabin when I Ithe the r came They w were re stunned for tor a few sec seconds and while a adaze adaze adaze I daze began cutting away at the fabric After cut cutting ing a large hole they t f found und l themselves directly over a deep depression depression depression depres depres- sion in the i ground and this enabled them to crawl to safety EYE EVE WITNESS TELLS STORY Captain S. S C C. Whitehurst army en engineer engineer engineer en- en an eye witness said the ship appeared to be in distress at a height of Ot 2000 feet He could easily see see th the the- tiny figures of ot the crew and passengers scurrying frantically back and forth throwing ballast storage batteries and nd other movable mo articles OYer over the side in Ia inan an effort to lighten the ship Stories of ot the crash conflict but general is that the gas bag bag- exploded as the ship struck the gro ground nd More l than half of the officers and men men killed were survived e b by wives s and children The families of the officers live at the field and here and there thero along the neat rows of ot homes flowing black crepes stir str gently In the breeze Window blinds bUnds were pulled low Two minutes after the Roma went t to destruction word of ot the tho disaster disaster- was receive at the navy flavy post In a few few seconds bareheaded barehead d women were run ning to the adjutants adjutant's office Unable to obtain word of the probable fate of their husbands many of ot them sped t to the ferry and ove over to the stricken ship Here the sentries forcing the he great crowds back with rough commands held the women gently while officers rs and friends restrained them from push pushing ing through to t the wreck i Y f fI QUAIL AT TASK z Officers hardened to death InI form quailed before the task th-task task of tele I Continued on page 2 t I I I I j I I I I r TWISTED T STEEL I Continued U from page 1 phoning the news of of Lieutenants Lieutenant's Keilly's Reillys death to his widow at Aberdeen Aberdeen Aberdeen Aber Aber- deen Md There is a three weeks' weeks old infant at the Reilly home and It was the shock might prove pro serious to the young mother Reardon was flat on his back with mud plastered over his face and neck when Captain Woods and others cameto came cameto cameto to the rescue Reardon had Just crawled from under the wreckage Just let me get the mud out o omy of my eyes Reardon said calmly in reply to a question as to his name and the extent of his injuries Reardon who Is not seriously hurt said he was wass in the control cabin when the controls went wrong Captain Mabry l and Lieutenant Burt were at their control wheels wheels' when the ship ducked its nose Burt pulled on the elevation lever but it I refused t to work Then he yelled cut cutout cutout out the motors she wont won't respond I Then she crashed and all went black I remember dimly breaking through the fabric and then I was out ALL BEWILDERED I Hurley slightly hurt hurt said that things happened so quickly he was wason wason on the ground before he realized what had happened Biedenback ck an an engineer said the Roma struck twenty seconds after she tilted The tragedy pr practically wiped out the airship training school at Langley Langley Lang- Lang iley ley field and practically every victim victim victim vic vic- tim was either an instructor or student student stu stu- student dent there Captain Davis said In h his s official report that the Roma started on her flight night at 1030 and fell at Other officers place the time of the accident accident acci acci- accident dent between 2 p. p m. m and p p. p m. m Members of the army board of InquIry in inquiry inquiry In- In are I Majors Davenport Johnson J. J H. H Jouett and Joseph T. T Major General Patrick made a cursory examination of the wreck to today today today to- to day and expects to return to WashIngton Washington Wash Wash- ington shortly after noon |