Continental Airlines Jet Blows
Apart . . . Kills All 45 Persons Aboard
UNIONVILLE, Mo. UP) — A $5
million Continental Airlines jet,
possibly torn apart by a violent
storm, fell to the ground in sections
last night, killing all 45 persons
aboard.
Although violent storms raged
across southern Iowa during the
night, there was speculation today
that a second plane may have been
Involved in the crash. Authorities
at Kirksville reported that pieces
of a plane which did not seem to
be part of the jet had been found.
However, at Kansas City, J. M.
Newman, assistant administrator
for the FAA Central Region, said
so far as his agency was concern
ed there was no collision. He said
the radar reading showed only one
"blip, indicating there was only one
plane in the vicinity.
The only known survivor, res
cued from an intact section of the
fuselage after an all-night search,
died in a hospital 90 minutes after
rescue.
He was Takehiko Nakano, 27,
an engineer who carried business
cards listing addresses in Oak Park,
W- 111., and Los Angeles.
He was removed from the mid
dle section of the fuselage, which,
shorn of its wings and tail section,
plunged into a shallow gully about
20 miles from where debris first
started spewing from the doomed
plane.
The- pilsne~ was Contineniai’s
Flight 11 enroute from Chicago to
Kansas City and Los Angeles with
37 maspshgpre nr>/4 d crew Of 8.
It apparently broke up over
Centerville, Iowa, about 20 miles
north of here.
The fuselage lay undiscovered
in a clover field on a farm until
after dawn.
Dewey Ballard, air carrier opera
tions inspector for the Federal
Committee Approves Repeal
Of Taxes on Passenger Tickets
WASHINGTON M —Legislation
to repeal the tax on railroad and
bus passenger tickets and halve
the levy on air fares effective Jan.
1 was approved today by the
House Ways and Means Commit
tee.
The bill approved by voice vote
also continues some $2.4 billion of
other taxes which would expire
or be reduced July 1 without
congressional action. The measure
was tentatively scheduled for
House action the week of June 4.
No Live Ammo ...
WASHINGTON UB — The Army
battle group in Thailand does not
now have ammunition for its
weapons, but a Defense Depart
ment spokesman said today a tre
mendous amount can be put into
the hands of the troops immedi
ately if needed.
Ample ammunition of all types
is available in ammunition trains
and depots near the group, the
spokesman said.
The 1,000-man unit went into
Thailand about five weeks ago for
joint training exercises with other
Southeast Asia Treaty Organiza
tion forces. In such manuevers,
live ammunition is not issued.
The fact, that the group does
not have live ammunition, the
spokesman said, “is for the good
reason that it is not up against of
in contact with an enemy at this
Aviation Agency at Kansas City,
viewed the fuselage this morning
and said it appeared to have been
broken up “by some tremendous
force.”
He said the plane apparently
broke apart in the air and pieces
spread out as they fell.
Jerry Hoshner, a member of a
Continental Airlines investigation
team, said the flight should have
been at about 39,000 feet and
traveling 500 to 60 miles per hour
at the time of the crash.
The inside of the fuselage was
a jumble of bodies, seats, luggage
and clothing.
The craft, a Boeing 707, made its
last report about 120 air miles
northeast of Kansas .City where it
was due to land about 25 minutes
later.
The plane then disappeared from
the FAA surveillance radar at
Kansas City.
About that time, too, Mrs. Carl
Jones, wife of the postmaster at
Cincinnati, Iowa, saw a bright blue
flash in the sky. Others saw it too.
Postpone Gold Hearings
WASHINGTON U!) — A Senate
Interior Subcommittee hearing on
gold production legislation has been
postponed to June 8.
The subcommittee chairman, Sen.
John A. Carroll, (D-Colo.), post
poned the hearing because Secre
tary of the Treasury Douglas Dil
lon was unable to testify this
morning. Dillon is expected to be
r ovauauiu i\j tcotuj truwc o.
One bill would provide incentive
pay up to $35 an ounce for do
mestic gold production.
FAIRBANKS FIRM FILES
$1,200,000 SUIT AGAINST
STATE OF ALASKA
FAIRBANKS iff) — A $1,200,000
suit has ben filed in Suprior Court
here against the State of Alaska.
Wright Truck and Tractor Serv
ice, Inc., of Fairbanks, in filing
suit against ttu. state cites the vio
lation of certain contract terms,
delays in a highway construction
project, plus excessive redesign
and cost.
In October of 1960, the Wright
Co. contracted with the State to
construct a section of highway be
tween Soldotna and the Kasiloff
River.
The Wright Co. states the con
tract price was $731,745.75. The
suit asks judgment of $1,100,000
plus $100,000 actual damages.
The Wright Co. alleges that State
knew that the plans and specifi
cations for the project were er
roneous and inadequate and that
it required extensive revisions. The
suit states in part, “nothwithstand
ing such knowledge on the part
of the State, for political reasons
the State, by letter dated October
17, 1960, gave plantiff notice to
proceed with the work in accord
ance with the provisions of the
contract.”
Wright Truck and Tractor Co.
allegedly 'began the actual con
struction of tile project shortly
the“_
WEATHER OUTLOOK
Partly cloudy. Low tonight 35,
high tomorrow 40. In the last 24
hours: High of 37, low of 28. Max.
wind 25 mph from NNE. Sunrise
at 2:14 am., sunset at 9:46 p.m.
Temps, a year ago today: High of
51, low of 33. Extremes on this
date since 1907: High of 63 in
1925, low of 21 in 1930.
Committee Is
Mum On JFK’s
Health Care Plan
WASHINGTON </P> — The ex
change of salvos by President Ken
nedy and the American Medical
Assn, on health care for the aged
has changed no votes where at
the moment they count most —
in the House Ways and Means
Committee.
This was the consensus today of
committee members on both sides
of the dispute over providing hos- :
pital and nursing benefits for per
sons retired under social security.
The key vote by the committee
on Kennedy’s bill, which would
provide such benefits and increase
payroll taxes to pay for them,
probably will come during the sec
ond week of June. The committee
has had the measure under con
sideration for a year.
Thirteen of the committee’s 25
votes would give the measure a
favorable report and a fair chance
of passage this year. Without fa
vorable committee action passage
is still possible, but extremely
doubtful.
While most members of the
committee are not saying publicly
where they stand, opponents appear
to have an edge which could be
overcome if as many as four
uncommitted members decided to
go along with the administration.
A..L^ T71!•_1_m.
vn oii riigm
Declared In
“Go” Condition
CAPE CANAVERAL (& — Proj
ect Mercury experts today success
fully completed the first section of
a countdown pointed toward
launching astronaut Malcolm Scott
Carpenter into triple orbit of the
earth tomorrow.
All systems in the Atlas rocket
and Aurora 7 capsule were declared
in “Go” condition. The only cause
for possible alarm was a haze of
acrid smoke spreading from forest
fires about 20 miles west of here
and big swamp fires in the Ever
glades 200 miles south.
Officials w^re hopeful, however,
this would not be dense enough to
prevent Carpenter from taking off
on the path first broken for the
United States by John H. Glenn
Jr. last Feb. 20.
May Cut Number of Orbits
There was a possibility even if
this smoke did not prevent the
blast-off, it might cut the number
of orbits by delaying the launch.
The sky must be relatively clear
in the launch area so cameras can
trace the rocket.
An announcement from the Na
tional Aeronautics and Space Ad
ministration said: “It is expected
that visibility may be improved
sufficiently by mid-morning that
limited camera capability can be
attained.”
If the launch is delayed much
past 9:30 a.m. EST, the number
of orbits would have to be cut
from three to two, in order to give |
recovery teams sufficient daylight j
to spot the capsule in the ocean.
Officials insist on three hours of
daylight for this task.
The experts planned to take an
other reading on the smoke situa
tion before picking up the count
down around midnight.
Carpenter, whose flight has been
postponed four times for technical
reasons, was reported at the top
of his form and eager to go.
II
U.S. May Admit
Chinese Refugees
WASHINGTON UP) — The Ken
nedy Administration is consider
ing emergency action, it was learn
ed today, to admit some Chinese
refugees from Hong Kong to the
United States.
Officials said the exact number
who might be covered under such
action has not been determined but
the size of the potential emergency
immigration quota may range from
1,000 to several thousand.
President Kennedy has been
deeply concerned about the plight
of refugees from Communist China
pouring into the British crown
colony of Hong Kong, then being
returned by the thousands behind
the barbed wire barricades because
of Hong Kong’s overcrowded con
dition.
Kennedy was expected to dis
cuss the problem and possible lines
of action at his news conference.
One of his major aims, officials
said, is to encourage maximum re
setlement of Hong Kong refugees
in other countries.
So far the Chinese Nationalist
government has said it would take
refugees from Hong Kong to the
island of Formosa, provided the
United States will help provide
relief facilities and transportation.
US. officials said they were also
greatly pleased with Canada’s an
nouncement of readiness to take
100 Chinese families.
State and Justice Department of
ficials said that under existing im
migration laws the administration
—specifically, Atty. Gen. Robert
Kennedy—may determine in an
emergency situation that it is in
the national interest to admit re
fugees under parole in spite of
ordinary quota barriers.
The law normally limits the
number of persons who may come
into the United States from many
countries. In the case of persons
of Chinese origin, the annual quota
is 105, officials said.
CHINESE REDS STOP
FLOW OF REFUGEES
HONG KONG m — Reports
from the frontier said Red China
border guards late today began to
curb the flow of refugees into Hong
Kong. Britain has asked Peiping
to intervene because this colony
has been swamped by the flow
of fugitives.
Border area residents said Com
munist guards first shouted orders
that groups waiting to cross should
return to their home villages, then
fired warning shots at those who
Still attempted to cross.
There was no confirmation from
Hong Kong authorities.
For a month, the Chinese Com
munists seemed to have been en
couraging the refugees to cross the
border. There had been specula
tion the Communists want to em
barrass the British, who have been
forced to turn back as many as
they can catch because the colony
can accommodate no more.
GLENN WILL BE INVITED TO
MIDNIGHT SUN FESTIVAL
WASHINGTON W — Astronaut
Col. John H. Glenn Jr. will be
invited to another far-out spot—
Nome, Alaska, for the Midnight
Sun Festival June 21-23.
Sen. E. L. Bartlett said he would
extend the invitation to Glenn on
behalf of the residents of Nome.
The festival takes place during a
period when the sun does not set
—if you are in Nome and environs.
“The Defenders”
Named Top Show
For TV Awards
HOLLYWOOD UP! — The law, as
practiced on television, won out
over medicine last night in the 14th
Annual Emmy Awards Show.
“The Defenders,” CBS-TV’s po
tent courtroom series, won four
Emmies to emerge as champ of the
television awards.
The win, reflecting solid voting
from New York members of the
Television Academy, was an upset.
“Ben Casey,” television’s sullen
medico, was a favorite with eight
nominations, but when the opera
tion was over, Casey had struck
out.
“The Defenders” won Emmies
for outstanding drama; for best
actor for star E. G. Marshall; best
director for Franklin Schaffner;
and for best writing for Reginald
Rose, its creator.
Even Queen Victoria did better
than “Ben Casey.” The Hallmark
production of “Victoria Regina”
won best actress award for Julie
Harris; best supoorting actress for
Pamela Brown, and the show was
adjudged best program of the year.
The best actor award went to
Peter Falk, who was nominated
for his role of a truck driver in
“The Price of Tomatoes” on the
Dick Powell show.
Shirley Booth, winner of a movie
Oscar and numerous awards, won
an Emmy for best actress in a
series.
Don Knotts, the deputy on the
Andy Griffith show, won his sec
The Gary Moore show was
named best variety show, and its
comedienne, Carol Burnett, was
named best variety artist.
---
NORTHWEST COASTS
ARE BEING STUDIED FOR
MINUTEMAN MISSILE SITES
WASHINGTON UP! — The coasts
of Washington and Oregon, as well
as Alaska and Mountain Home Air
Force Base, Idaho, are being
studied for possible location of
Minuteman intercontinental bal
listic missile bases, Sens. Warren
Magnuson and Henry Jackson, (D
Wn.), said yesterday.
The Air Force sent crews to 17
areas, from Guam and Hawaii to
New Hampshire, to test soil, ade
quacy of road networks, suitability
of topography and other factors.
Maj. Gen. Perry Hoisington,
Deputy Director of Legislative
Liaison for the Air Force, said the
explorations are for advance plan
ning purposes, and do not indicate
the areas have been selected as
Minuteman sites, or even that ad
ditional Minuteman sites have been
approved.
Missed By Only One
SEATTLE UP! — Robert Hoitt of
Fairbanks missed by only one esti
mating attendance at the World’s
Fair last week, but he was too far
off to win a prize.
A Silverdale, Wn., woman, Mrs.
Wm. F. Witte, guessed the attend
ance — 281,242 — right on the
nose in the contest sponsored by
the Seattle Times. She won $50.
City Accepts Planning Money
The City Council, in a meeting
at noon today accepted an agree
ment with the Housing and Home
Finance Agency providing $15,000
in advance planning money tor
the proposed water and sewer
system.