Evening Star Newspaper, August 17, 1930, Page 89

THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, AUGUST 17, et When Six Men Jum 1930. These six men joined the Caterpillar Club in a body when the plane in which they were riding plunged earthward and their parachutes saved them. They are, le}t to right: Staff Sergt. Caleb A. Davis, Pvt. Meroyn E. Stokes, Corpl. Webby L. Green, and Puts. Tony Wasilevich, Roy V. Lockwood and John E. Koziak. BY FALK HARMEL. IX men, tried and true, fecently joined the Caterpillar Club in & body, this wholesale initiation occurring some eight miles from Fresno, Calif., just after the propeller on the right motor of an Army transport broke in two and the plane started jumping badly. The transport was piloted by Lieut. Warren A. Maxwell, Air Corps, of Rockwell Pield, Coronado, Calif. Sitting beside him in the cockpit was Sergt. Arthur, the six other pas- sengers being in the cabin. The pilot and Sergt. Arthur stuck to the ship and mirgcu- Jously escaped injury in the crash w,%h followed. The Army airmen were en route from Mather Field, Sacramento, Calif., to Rockwell Field. Landing at Bakersfield, Calif., for servicing, Lieut. Maxwell was handed a message from the commanding officer of Mather Field directing him to return because of a sudden change In weather along the southern end of his course. “Everything was going along smoothly until we neared Fresno,” Lieut. Maxwell afterward stated. “Suddenly, what I at first thought was the left propeller broke off. I throttled down the motors from left to right, but by that time I discovered that the right propeller was gone, that the right motor had virtually torn itself to pieces and the plane was jumping badly. I saw that a forced landing in a vineyard was coming, and told Sergt. Arthur, who was in the pilot’s cockpit with me, to tell the other men to jump. Arthur opened the door to yell at them, but they had already sensed what was coming, and the last man was just disappearing out of the door. I then told Arthur to jump, too, as we were due to crash., Arthur said ‘No,’ and stood by. I tried for an open space in the vine- yard, but couldn’t quite stretch the glide to make it, and we piled up in the vineyard. I don't understand why something didn’t hit us in the face; things were certainly fiying around in the front cabin.” ND that was all there was to this story, as far as the pilot of the transport was con- cerned. Incidentally, this wholesale initiation ceremony constituted a record, it being the first occasion where as many as six men jumped at approximately the same time from a disabled aircraft during flight. Three years ago, in an accident almost similar to the one described above—a propeller breaking and jarring the engine loose—four Army airmen descended from their perilous position in an Army bomber and landed safely on terra firma by means of their parachutes. This number heretofore consti- tuted a record in simultaneous emergency parachute jumps. There have been several in- stances where as many as 10 to 12 men jumped concertedly from a single airplane or from a group of planes, but these were premeditated practice jumps, and the pilots placed their planes in a flying attitude such as to enable the jumpers to step off or jump into space under the most advantageous conditions pos- sible. In unhappy situations where parachute jumps must be made under the stress of dire neces- sity time is too valuable a factor to brook any delay in leaving & plane. Such leavetaking must be instantaneous, no matter in what flying sttitude the plane may be at that particular Sime. It mhy be of interest to relate the versions How a Group of Army Airmen Cleared a Plunging Transport, Took to Wings of = Silk and Parachuted in a Bunch for a Record Membership Initiation in the Caterpillar Club. on this incident of the six men, who, by virtue of their emergency parachute jumps, automati- cally became members of the famous Legion of Caterpillars, which in this country now num- bers more than 250. ‘They say that the last shall be first, so that in order to be consistent it may be well to relate the story of Tony Wasilevich, since he was the last one to leave the cabin of the fast- descending transport. Upon nearing Fresno he heard a sudden noise in the front of the cabin, and upon looking in the direction from which it seemed to have emanated he saw quite a hole in the right side wall of the cabin, evidently made by a fragment of the broken propeller. Shortly following the crashing noise, he noticed that the plane became wobbly, bouncing up and down and from side to side, at the same time starting to lose altitude very fast. “Thoughts of putting the parachute strapped to me to & test came to me at about the same time as the balance of the passengers had de- cided on the same course of action,” Wasilevich stated, “for we all started toward the doors at about the same second. Sergt. Davis reached the side door first, and he was the first to leave the plane. Every one seemed to be calm enough under the circumstances and there was no crowding to get to the door first. We had quite a time opening the door and Keeping it open, so I decided that I would be the last one to leave the ship, figuring that my former experience under similar circumstances would help me considerably. I held the door open for the rest of the gang, and when the cabin was clear of all except myself I decided to go feet first, so that I would be able to hold the door open until my body was clear of same. As my hands were busy with the door, I didn't get hold of the release ring until I was free of the plane. I started a search for the ring, and it seemed as though I was turning somersaults. For one second I would be gazing at five open chutes of the other men below me, while in the next second I would be gazing at different colored clouds. I found the ring at last and decided it was about time to stop prying and try ‘my pull’ It wasn’t long before I stopped traveling so rapidly, coming up with a very slight jerk to a position of ‘attention’ in the air. In Janding I hit the ground so easy that it was hard to believe I was on it. I felt no ill effects from my jump.” STAPP SERGT. CALEB A. DAVIS stated that when the plane started flopping up and down and from side to side and seemed to be losing altitude very fast he jumped from the side door, going out head first. ‘The parachute opened as soon as he pulled on the release ring. He remarked that there was very little excite- men among the passengers, and it seemed as though each of them was just awaiting his turn to jump. While he felt no ill effects from the jump, he admitted being rather nervous and excited until he reached the plane and found Lieut. Russell and his mechanic were all right. Corp. Webby L. Green stated that after hearing the crash in front of the ship it wasn't but a second until glass and wood were flying in all directions. It seemed as though the ship was nosed downward, with the left wing high. “Sergt. Davis was the first man to reach the side door,” he stated. “I was next in line, and all of the passengers kept calm and collected. We had some trouble opening the door on account of a homemade fastening attached to it. On getting the door open, Sergt. Davis went out head first while I held the door, and when be was clear I leaped feet first. As I was falling I glanced over my shoulder, saw the ship for a second or so, and when it was no longer visible I pulled on the ring, which I had been holding from the time I left the ship. It didn’t seem as though any time had elapsed until the chute was wide open, and I will have to confess that Corp. Green felt much better. I came to the ground in an easy landing. All of the men acted normal after making their jump. I felt no ill effects, nor did I suffer from injurieg or burns from the parachute harness.” “As two of the passengers had already jumped through the side door and I was in line, I de- cided to make my leap feet first,” Pvt. John M, Koziak stated. “Upon seeing that I was clear of the plane, I yanked on the rip-cord ring, and it seemed as though the chute opened immediately. It seemed that we all discovered our plight at about the same time, and were quite fortunate, in that no one became excited and we were able to leave the plane in turn. Upon landing we gathered our chutes and got together, asking one another questions about the trip down. Every one acted normal, and none seemed to be suffering any ill effects from the jump. I suffered no ill effects from the jump, with the exception of a small abrasion en the left thigh, which no doubt was caused by the chute harness at the time the chute AGR.EEI.NG with the statements of the other men that all discovered the trouble at the same time and simultaneously started for the door, although none appearad to he excited about their plight, Pvt. Mervyn E. Stokes stated he heard some one say “Jump!” and he went out, head first, counted two, pulled the rip cord, and the next thing he knew was that he was floating downward through space, reaching the ground nice and easy. While drifting to a landing he watched the ship, and it was gliding with the wing tips flopping up and down. On reaching the ground and getting free of the parachute harness, every one rushed to the ship to render any aid needed, as it seemed that all realized that the pilot and his mechanic were still in it. After finding that both men were uninjured, Pvt. Stokes said he personally felt a whole lot better. He felt no ill effects from the jump, although his left shouldeg hurt a little, no doubt due to the jerk he received when the chute opened. Pvt. Roy V. Lockwood made his exit from the plane through the trapdoor of the cabin. He stated quite a little trouble was experienced with the door, since it was a new one and bolts had been placed in the hinges instead of clevis pins. The emergency release failed, and there was a night latch attached to the door, which caused some delay in opening it. The trap- door worked all right, and he dropped through it feet first. In coming down after the chute opened he tried to keep the plane in view, knowing that the pilot, Lieut. Maxwell, and his mechanic stuck with their ship. As soom as he came to an easy landing on the ground and freed himself from the harness he ran to the plane, and was relieved o find both men uninjured. ‘HERE was nothing of a spectacular nature about the jumps of these six men, mnor should the fact that all of them landed safely on terra firma cause any undue wonderment. The Army type parachute needs no additional proof of its high efficiency as a safety device. Given half a chance, it will “do its stuff” and bring the jumper down safely. While it is true that several lives have been Jost in airplane accidents where the parachute was resorted to, these unfortunate instances cannot be attributed to any defect in the big silken umbrella, but rather to the human ele- ment—the fatal mistake of the jumper in pulling the rip cord before he was clear of the falling airplane, thus causing the shroud lines to become entangled in some part of the air- plane and bringing the jumper down in the crash. The great lesson which should be learned from this unusual incident is the vital necessity of keeping cool in time of danger. Here were six men who refused to become excited in a moment of peril. All of them fully realized their danger and were keenly aware of the fact that the airplane was making a dive to de- struction. Yet there was no crowding or push- ing, no wild stampede and no hysteria. They were optimists all, and evidently firm believers in the popular expression that “everything will come out all right.” Their conduct should be an inspiration to all of us, and should be pro= claimed to the world much the same as the famous message of Garcia. Countless lives have been lost because in times of stress people lost all shreds of reason, became panicky and dashed madly for safety, having utterly no regard for the lives of those weak or helpless. These six men should be accorded special honors in the famous order of Caterpillars. Their exemplary eonduct should be lauded just as much as-that disquieting state of ‘mind— panic—should be decried.