The Chattanooga News

PLANE LANDS UPSIDE DOWN
Assistant Secretary of War Crowell and Pilot Narrowly Escape Death.

Mineola, L. I., Oct. 8.--Assistant Secretary of War Benedict Crowell, the starter in the transcontinental air race had a narrow escape from serious injury today when a DeHaviland-four plane in which he was making a flight, crashed to earth from an altitude of 150 feet, Capt. Cleary, the pilot, also escaped injury. The accident--the first of the contests--was caused by engine trouble. The machine landed upside down.

Cleary and Crowell were strapped in the machine but climbed out unaided a few seconds after the crash.

The machine had been in the air less than a minute. Mr. Crowell said he would make a flight in another machine later in the day.

The pilot, explaining the accident, said the engine stopped and in order to avoid running into a hangar and injuring a number of persons he was forced to turn his machine abruptly around with the result that it toppled over. The wrecked machine was not in the race

70 Miles in 37 Minutes.
Sacramento, Cal., Oct. 8--Seventy miles in thirty-seven minutes was the pace set by Lieut. E. G. Kiel, who landed here from San Francisco, the first pilot to arrive. Others landed at few minute intervals.

The aviators will resume the dash from here to Mineola after taking on supplies.

Pass Over Reno, Nev.
Reno, Nev., Oct. 8.--Two of the airplanes in the transcontinental flight passed over Reno at 9:10 o'clock this morning, after making a successful trip over the Sierra Nevada mountains from Mather field, at Sacramento. They landed on a field four miles east of Reno.

Carried German Police Dog.
Rochester, N. Y., Oct 8.--Lieut. Belvin W. Maynard in a DeHaviland four, arrived here at 12:18 o'clock, the trip from Binghamton being made in fifty-five minutes. Lieut. Maynard carried a German police dog and was the second flyer to arrive here.

Lieut. B. W. Maynard, of Mount Olive, N. C., was the ninth airman to get away, leaving the ground at 9:24 a. m. Lieut. Maynard, who won the New York-Toronto aerial derby recently, was a theological student at Wake Forest college, N. C. when the United States entered the war.

He left college and enlisted in the air service, later winning a commission and acting as tester of new and repaired airplanes at an American aviation field in France,

Lieut. Maynard re-entered school to resume his studies for the Baptist ministry, soon after winning the New York-Toronto derby, but recently secured leave of absence to enter the transcontinental race.

Planes Reach Buffalo.
Buffalo, Oct. 8.--Plane No. 31, Lieut. B. W. Maynard and passenger, Lieut. W. E. Richards, DeHaviland four, arrived at Curtiss field at 1:15 p. m.

Plane No. 11, Col. H. E. Hartley and Lieut. Klein arrived here at 1:25 p. m

Col. Brant Mortally Hurt
Binghamton, N. Y., Oct. 8.--Col. Gerald Brant was probably mortally hurt and his passenger, Sergt. W. H. Nevitt, seriously injured, when their plane crashed to the ground from an unknown reason one mile north of Deposit at 1 o'clock. Col. Brant's arms and legs were broken and he suffered internal injuries. Sergt. Nevitt apparently suffered concussion of the brain. The airplane was wrecked.

Lieut. Maughan was forced to land near Glensdale, N. Y., near Port Jervis, at 11:45 o'clock, according to a message received here.

He was unhurt.