Diário de Lisboa
- Fonck’s airplane catches fire; two crew members die
The bold Havas dispatch reports a takeoff crash and fire, distinguishing Fonck and his assistant pilot’s escape from the deaths of the mechanic and radio operator. This partial edition translates the complete short dispatch but excludes the editorial note beneath it.
Lower-central Fonck heading and bold Havas dispatch, stopping at the agency credit; the following editorial note is excluded.
Translation
Fonck’s airplane catches fire; two crew members die
Fonck’s airplane catches fire
Two crew members burned to death
NEW YORK, 21.—While attempting to take off, the aviator Fonck’s aircraft overturned and caught fire.
Fonck and his assistant pilot jumped from the aircraft and escaped unharmed.
The mechanic and the radio operator were burned to death.—(Havas).
Context
A prize flight to Paris
René Fonck was preparing a nonstop flight from New York to Paris in the Sikorsky S-35. The $25,000 Orteig Prize made that route a major aviation challenge. The accident occurred before the ocean crossing began, turning a story about the prospect of a record into news of a fatal departure.
Why the takeoff was a critical stage
A long-distance aircraft had to leave the ground carrying the load needed for the journey. The S-35 was fitted with auxiliary landing gear for its heavy takeoff, intended to be discarded afterward. That design illustrates how the effort to extend flying range also created difficulties on the ground, before the crew could face the risks of the ocean itself.
A team behind the famous pilot
The brief dispatch separates two surviving pilots from the mechanic and radio operator who died. Those roles reveal the expedition as a team undertaking, with responsibility for flying, maintaining the aircraft and communication. Fonck’s name supplied the headline, but the losses fell on the less prominently named members of that team.
Original
O avião de Fonck INCENDIOU-SE tendo morrido queimados dois tripulantes NEW-YORK, 21. — Quando tentava levantar vôo o aparelho do aviador Fonck capotou, incendiando-se. Fonck e o seu piloto-ajudante saltaram do aparelho, ficando ilesos. O mecanico e o radiotelegrafista morreram carbonisados.—(Havas).
O avião de Fonck
INCENDIOU-SE
tendo morrido queimados dois tripulantes
NEW-YORK, 21. — Quando tentava levantar vôo o aparelho do aviador Fonck capotou, incendiando-se.
Fonck e o seu piloto-ajudante saltaram do aparelho, ficando ilesos.
O mecanico e o radiotelegrafista morreram carbonisados.—(Havas).