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Show CAUSE HINTED AT CRASH QUIZ Witness Describes Fierce Blizzard A possible answer to th question of why a United Atr Linn Malnllnar crashed In Summit county th Bight of October IT, taking 1 persona to their death, was forthcoming Thursday Thurs-day at a federal Inquiry Into th cause of th crash. Testimony also brought oat that a howling bllxaard that night had forced a Western Air Express plan to turn back to Bait Laks City on it flight to Butt, Mont. Testimony was to th effect that not only did an unpredictable storm force th W. A. E. plan back, but that more than an hour before th Malnliner eraahed United Air Line wss Informed that the bllssard was whistling toward th Malnliner -course. However, radio interruptions interrup-tions at Wyoming ground station may have prevented Pilot E. D. Woodgerd of the Malnliner from receiving the Information. Added to this testimony were th words of four fallow pilots, who praised Pilot Woodgerd' navigation naviga-tion ability and on of whom gave a possible answer to a question In the public mind ever line th crash why, If Pilot Woodgerd was flying blind, did he not fly higher than 10.200 feet? "In my opinion," testified Hugh O. Coleman. 30. Cheyenne, U. A. L copilot who flew with Woodgerd nearly five yearn, "he never had any idea but what h waa directly on his course at any time, and I feel sure he had a check then, either visually or by radio, within a period of 10 or 12 minute from Knight field, or what he figured would bo 10 to 12 minute from Knight field, "He thought he would pick up th Knight rang when he got in a little closer vicinity, and was Very probably holding hi altitude to that time for a definite check. That la the only idea I could give you on that." Pilot Coleman' words were ta answer to a query of W. D. Hammond, Ham-mond, chairman of th state aeronautic aero-nautic commission, who asked why, tCootlnUMl on Paso Stoat) (Colusa TWO) Air Crash Cause Hinted at Quiz Wye., about T?sa p. by, when rela-static rela-static garbled all radio signals. The torm apparently became ae Intoase that at 1:41 p. m. teletypewriter sec- lra uut of fiwk Springs u interrupted in-terrupted and tha regular 1:41 p. m. weather report waa not broadcast until S55 p. m., via radio. lOwmmie tram Peee Oosl If It was tha practice to fly at 1J,000 feet between Altamont (east of KnlghO.end Salt Lake City, Wood-gerd Wood-gerd was not flying st that eleva-! tlon when he crashed southwest of Knight. The four pilots who testified concerning con-cerning Pilot Woodgerd'e flying ability were Mr. Coleman. Clyde A Parlette. Kar! SplckeTmlefaniTAT-' bert J. Booth. They all said Pilot Woodgerd always flew on course or slightly to the right, that he was an expert on navigation and tjiat he was never known to fly as fur south of his course as Humpy ridge. Pilots also brought out the fact that a pilot does not havs to receive permiesion from a dispatcher before be-fore he can change altitude or flight plnne if an emergency arises. j Testimony was apparent that If Pilot Woodgerd had known his exact ex-act position he would have been flying fly-ing much higher. According to another an-other wltnees, Walter H. Palmer, Rock Springs, a plana paased south of his horns flying west very high about 11:19 p. m. October 17. Another witness, John Oamphell. department of commerce patrol pilot, testified that flight checks he made of the radio range beam courses between Halt Lake City and Rock Springs following the crash showed the beams were functioning on normal alignment. Bryan M. Jacobs, chief of the certificate cer-tificate and Inepaction division of the bureau of air commerce; K. L Yuravlch, orhief of tha foreign Inspection In-spection division, and Mr, Hum mond conducted most of the technical techni-cal questioning during Thursday's session. United Air Lines at 7:21 p. m., the fatal night of October 17. was informed in-formed of tha disturbance, according accord-ing to testimony of A. S. Mooney Jr., Western Air pilot, flying a schedule from Salt Lake City to Butte, Mont Pilot Mooney aald that at an elevation ele-vation of 10.900 feet, ica formed on wlnga and that his radio was fouled, and that a gala approximating approxi-mating 70 mllea an hour drifted his ship eastward toward ths mountains. moun-tains. Ha waa forced to turn back to Salt Laks City. At 7:21 p. m he radioed tha atorm Information to the Weatern Air dispatcher, who In torn relayed It to the United Air Lines dispatcher and to tha weather bureau. He landed his ship at Salt Laks City at 7:4 p. m. and again ths Weetern Air dispatcher Informed In-formed United Air Lines of the storm condition. Whils this gals howled, according to testimony, ths luxury Mainliner. with IS persona aboard, waa flying west toward Salt Laks City from Cheyenne. Wyo. In Mr. Mooney's opinion. If he ran Into ths front end of the storm at 7:21 p. m , tbs gale would have been ever ths southwestern south-western Wyoming area about ons hour later, at which Urns the Mainliner Main-liner was running Into difficulties. According te testimony of C W. Larson, bureau of air commerce technical expert, a heavy atorm struck Knight and Rock Springs, |