Palm Springs, CA Airliner And Bomber Collide, Oct 1942

LUXURY AIRLINER HITS BOMBER IN MID-AIR; 12 DIE.

THREE OTHERS MEET DEATH IN TWO OTHER TRAGIC AIR ACCIDENTS.

Palm Springs, Cal. -- (U.P.) -- The American Air Lines plane which crashed near here Friday evening, killing nine passengers and its crew of three, was in a collision with an army bomber, the Air Lines officials announced yesterday.
The dead included RALPH RAINGER, author of such outstanding polular songs as "June in January," "Moanin' Low," and "Love In Bloom."
B. R. VEST, JR., an executive of the Allison Engine company of Indianapolis and M. C. HENDERSON state industrial commissioner for Arizona.
Plane En Route To New York.
The big Douglas plane, eastbound from Los Angeles to New York, was coming in for a routine landing at the airport here. It was seen to go into a flat spin at approximentely 2,000 feet and whirl down over the north ridge of the San Jacinto mountains. It struck the edge of the ridge, bounded into the air, crashed again to the ground and exploded with a roar audible over a wide area. It burned fiercely for hours, but the wreckage had cooled, sufficiently early yesterday to permit removal of the bodies.
The Air Lines, on the authority of CHARLES A. RHEINSTROM, issued this statement: "American Air Lines flight 28 eastbound, from Los Angeles to New York, was in collision with an army bomber and crashed one-half mile west of Palm Springs at 5:15 p. m. (8:15 p.m. EWT) Friday, Oct. 23. All nine passengers and crew of three were killed. The trip left at 4:30 p.m. and was at normal cruising altitude on course; clear weather and daylight when accident occurred."
Two Eyewitnesses.
Two eyewitnesses said the plane spun "three or four miles" before it crashed to earth. They said they had not seen a plane collide with the transport.
FRED KLUG, Palm Springs resident, said he believed he saw part of the planes tail fall off. MISS MARJORIE POHL said she, too, saw the surfaces fall after the plane began its rapid descent.
"The plane was flying at about 3,000 feet when I noticed it," KLUG said. "It started into a circular dive and crashed and burned. The explosion was very loud, even a mile away, where I was."
"The plane was consumed by the fire. Nobody had a chance."
Questioned about reports of a midcollision, KLUG said he saw no other plane in the air.
"The plane shook and quivered," MISS POHL said, "and then the tail appeared to fall off and the ship started to spin."
"I didn't see any other plane."
Soldiers from nearby posts and tourists from this fashionable resort rushed to the ridge when the plane crashed, hoping to rescue the occupants, but the flames barred them. Several soldiers tried to get through the flames without success. A military retail[sic] guarded the smouldering ruins all night.
C. BAKER of Phoenix, one of the passengers, was a blind man. He was accompanying Commissioner HENDERSON from Los Angeles to Phoenix.
The body of MISS ESTELLE REGAN, Dallas, the stewardess, was thrown clear of the wreckage and consequently was not burned.
The pilot was Capt. CHARLES F. PEDLEY, of Dallas, a veteran of the commercial air lines, and a widely known airman. His co-pilot was First Officer L. F. REPPERT, of Fort Worth, Tex.
Concerning the Air Lines statement that the plane had been in colllision with an army bomber, army authorities here said the report was "unconfirmed."
The passengers:
BAKER, C., Phoenix.
BIRD, FRANK, Los Angeles, an engineer.
HEDE. L. A., Winston-Salem, N. C.
HENDERSON, M. C., Phoenix.
RAINGER, RALPH, New York.
ROSSER, JOSEPH, Santa Ana, Cal.
VEST, B. R., JR., Indianapolis.
WALLACE, E. H., Las Vegas, Nev.
WERT, CHARLES M., Los Angeles, engineer.
RAINGER was born RALPH REICHENTHAL in New York City 41 years ago. He attended New Jersey law school and was admitted to the bar before turning to song writing. He collaborated in musical scores for a number of movies, including "Waikiki Wedding," "Ruggles Of Red Gap," and ironically, "Palm Springs."
Many of his songs were popularized by Bing Crosby.

Hammond Times Louisiana 1942-10-25

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Researched and Transcribed by Stu Beitler. Thank you, Stu!