The initial takeoffs were plagued with trouble, as several of the heavily-laden aircraft struggled to take off. "Oklahoma" took off first, just after 12 PM.  The crew would eventually abort the flight over San Francisco with an overheating engine. She was followed by "El Encanto" at 12:02 PM, which failed to clear the runway before she swerved and crashed, smashing the port wing from the starting line. "Pabco Flyer", starting at 12:09 PM, lifted momentarily into the air, then crashed some feet from the start. Their crews were not hurt.