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PAGE TWELVE Aug 11/31 2nd yr. ELMIRA STAR-GAZETTE Canal Zone Entry Is Critically Hurt As Wing Crumples ------- Captain Thomas Phillips, U. S. Army, Tries To Zoom Over Phone Wires For Landing - Wing Breaks in Center - Dives Into Hedge - Hastings First to Aid - To Discuss Schempp's Record - Many in the Air. ------- Captain Thomas Phillips, U. S. Army flyer, was in St. Joseph's Hospital today suffering from possibly fatal injuries as a result of a glider crash late Monday afternoon. Phillips, one of the most popular entrants in the National Gliding and Soaring Meet, received a fractured skull, crushed feet, and possible internal injuries when a wing on his sailplane collapsed as he was coming in for a landing on a brush covered field at the foot of South Mountain. [[image: headshot of Phillips]] CAPT. PHILLIPS According to Albert E. Hastings, one of the few eye witnesses of the accident, the army flyer was making a landing due to the failure of the wind. He attempted to zoom his ship over a net of telephone lines, when the right wing folded up, breaking at the center section. Plunged Into Hedge The ship made a half roll in the air and plunged into a hedge directly under the telephone lines. When Hastings reached the spot, he found the pilot pinned in the wreckage so securely he was unable to release him. Before he lapsed into unconsciousness, Phillips asked Hastings to help him out. When other spectators arrived, under Hastings' direction, the captain was released and made as comfortable as possi- [[text missing, line faded]] ing with the county surveyor this morning to determine the exact distance of these points from Elmira. Although the barographs of the two flyers had not been checked this morning, it was not believed they had set a new altitude mark. Hastings Leads Pilots To date, Albert E.Hastings has the lion's share of points in the meet, which he rolled up on one flight a week ago Monday. Hastings remained in the air for two hours, 45 minutes, soared to an altitude of 1,960 feet, and landed at Erin, eight miles distant from Elmira by air. Flyers were delayed in their flights yesterday when they encountered difficulty in getting their ships to the top of South Mountain due to the bad roads resulting from Sunday's rain. It was well after noon when the first ship, flown by William J. Perfield, Detroit, was launched into the air.
