Thorold, ON Airliner Crash, Sep 1929

MYSTERY SHROUDS CAUSE OF AIRPLANE TRAGEDY IN ONTARIO.

INQUIRY IS OPENED BY DOMINION DIRECTOR OF CIVIL AVIATION.

St. Catharines, Ont., Sept. 16 -- Three of the six victims of the passenger plane crash near Lock 15 of the Welland Canal, Saturday, will be buried today.
All day yesterday the bodies in various stages of incineration lay in the mortuary chapel, while special police guarded the wreckage of the airplane against would by souvenir hunters.
The cause of the accident which forced the plane to descend before it had reached a proper altitude for the flight upon which it had just started, is only a matter of conjecture. J. A. Wilson, Dominion director of civil aviation, opened an inquiry yesterday into the disaster, the result of which will not be made public until the report is received by the minister at Ottawa.
While the report of the board is pending, various theories are being advanced. A rather plausible theory is that Pilot "DOC" BRADFIELD, who perished with all his passengers, discovered that his engine was not functioning properly, and although he was able to rise above the trees and high voltage lines, was not able to soar high enough to make a safe turn back towards the new airport from which he had taken off. It is estimated by some who have examined the scene of the crash and have conversed with the lock tenders who saw the machine crash, that BRADFIELD decided to make a forced landing and picked out the flat and marshy land for this purpose.
The theory then goes as far as to include a panic among the passengers. Pilot BRADFIELD'S plane had duel controls, and there was a vacant seat beside him. It is believed that one of the frightened passengers seized the vacant stick and interfered with the proper landing. This point will probably never be definitely cleared.
The bodies which will be laid away this afternoon are those of Pilot BRADFIELD and MRS. BENNETT. Both will be buried at Victoria Lawn cemetery here.
The remains of JOHN P. BOND will be taken this afternoon to Toronto after a private service at the St. Catharines residence of his sister, MRS. E. J. KEW.

The Lethbridge Herald Alberta 1929-09-16

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PASSENGER PLANE BURNS.

Buffalo, N.Y., Sept. 14 -- (AP) -- Six persons, including a woman and one child were burned to death shortly after 6 o'clock tonight after a monoplane belonging to Skyway, Ltd., of Toronto, crashed in a field between Merriton and Thorold, Ont.
The plane caught fire after the crash, and its occupants were burned beyond recognition. The pilot was FRANK M. BRADFIELD, of Toronto.
The bodies were removed to St. Catharines, Ont.

List Of Dead.
Chief of Police Frank Collins, of Thorold who visited the place of the wreck and who said he helped to remove the charred bodies from the debris, said the accident happened about 6:10 p.m.
A list of the dead, given out at a St. Catharine's undertaking room tonight, follows:
FRANK M. BRADFIELD, Toronto.
JAMES McDONALD, St. Catharines, Ont.
JOHN BOND, St. Catharines.
ALLAN BOND, nine-year-old son of JOHN BOND.
MRS. WALTER BENNETT, Hamilton, Ont.
LOUIS BENNETT, St. Catharines Heights.

Decatur Daily Review Illinois 1929-09-15
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Researched and Transcribed by Stu Beitler. Thank you, Stu!