Private Plane Tears Into S. Camden Street
View transcription
—Courier-Post Photo
THE TWISTED WRECKAGE of a monoplane which crashed into Sylvan st. in South Camden on Wednesday night after plunging out of control is examined by police and firemen following removal of the pilot, William A. Kreusser, 26, of 873 Fairview st. Doctors said Kreusser, though seriously injured, would recover. Hundreds of persons witnessed the crash.
Pilot Injured as Craft Crashes Near Home
A 26-year-old South Camden pilot miraculously escaped with his life Wednesday night when his light monoplane, plunging out of control, tore down power lines and crashed into the street near his home.
Hundreds of terror-stricken persons saw William A. Kreusser, of 873 Fairview st., circling the neighborhood in the vicinity of 9th st. and Congress rd. as he fought to pull the craft from a dive.
Then the plane ripped through a network of wires and crashed into the road in front of 843 Sylvan st. without exploding.
Dug from the wreckage by firemen, Kreusser was rushed to West Jersey Hospital with a brain concussion, several fractured ribs and a punctured right lung. But doctors said today his condition was fair and he would recover.
Flying Five Years
Neither police nor relatives were able to explain what Kreusser, who has been flying for five years and who bought the monoplane three months ago, was doing over his South Camden home at the time.
He had left the Blackwood Airport, where he kept the craft, around 5:15 p. m. The bizarre crash occurred half an hour later. Kruesser [sic], a former marine, is an employe of New York shipyard and lives with his father and mother at the Fairview st. address.
In its dizzy descent, the monoplane sheared off the crossbeam of a utility pole at 9th and Fairview sts. after plowing through a netting of telephone and power lines.
Street Lights Out
Street lights in the vicinity of 8th and 9th sts., between Florence st. and Congress rd., were blacked out for approximately five hours following the crash. Service was finally restored by Public Service at 10:45 p. m.
When it plunged into Sylvan st., the craft flopped over with its wheels in the air, narrowly missing a row of two-story brick homes.
Police roped off the crash area from hundreds of curious onlookers and also roped off the vicinity of the home of Albert Buzine, of 901 Fairview st., over which loose electric wires were dangling. House lights in the neighborhood were affected.
A detail of police and firemen, working under emergency beam lights, tried to turn the plane upright. The covering of its fuselage was torn away, exposing the steel ribs. In their efforts to right the plane, the detail scurried away when the ripped and broken right wing toppled over and hung dejectedly.
The crew dragged the remains of the monoplane to the Kreusser backyard and hoisted the mangled structure over the white picket fence.
Igor Shelpuk, 15, of 907 Fairview st., was in the second floor rear bedroom of his home when, he said, he heard the drone of a plane motor increasing in volume.
He said he looked out of the window and saw the craft circling the area. It disappeared from view for a time and then the boy said he looked out again at its approach in time to see the plane "spin dizzily two or three times" and cut away out of sight.
Hears Crash
An instant later Shelpuk heard a crash. The motor was still humming. In a moment, he said, there came a rending crash as the plane hit in Sylvan st. and turned over.
William Vogel, 27, of 931 Woodland ave., Camden, near the Kreusser home, almost completely lost his voice by the shock of learning of his friend's predicament.
Both men are employed by the New York Shipbuilding Corp., Vogel in the purchasing department, and the injured pilot as an electrician.
Vogel said, in a whisper that could hardly be heard, he was near his home when he saw the plane come by. He said it was flying so low he knew it must be in some kind of trouble. He felt certain, a moment later, when he saw the craft maneuvering for an emergency landing in Ever's Park. Apparently the pilot changed his mind about landing there when he saw a group of children playing in the park.
Friend Is Stunned
Vogel said he was too stunned to visit the scene of the crash when he heard the plane pancake.
Capt. John Ballinghoff, of Engine Co. 10, said the plane, after shearing off the crossbeam of a utility pole on Fairview st., hopped upward as Kreusser evidently made a desperate attempt to gain altitude, but plummeted in a diagonal dive across the backyard of his home and crashed.
The Kreusser home has a long, grassy plot for a backyard, which is fenced in white pickets and extends back to Sylvan st. The picket fence was not touched.
Police Chief Gustav Koerner arrived from his home to take charge of police forces.
The plane did not catch fire when it crashed to the street, but loosed a flood of gasoline around its battered frame. Firemen sprayed the wreckage with water and washed down the street as a precautionary measure.
Taken to Hospital
Kreusser was taken to the hospital in a station wagon owned by Cyril Hughes, who lives at 8th st. and Woodland ave. Accompanying Hughes was the injured man's father, William A. Kreusser, 57, and Hoseman John Dugan of Engine Co. 10.
Kreusser senior, also employed by the New York Shipbuilding Corp., as a miscellaneous buyer, said his son was stationed with the U. S. Marines in California during War II. The pilot learned to fly, following his discharge from the service, under the GI Bill.
The father said his son had been flying for five years. He had acquired possession of the monoplane about three months ago and customarily took off on jaunts from the Blackwood Airport, he said.
Registered Pilot
Vogel said Kreusser is a registered pilot in the state with more than 1000 hours flying time qualifying him to pilot any type aircraft.
Neighbors said Kreusser worked for a time as a commercial crop-duster.
The pilot's mother, Margaret, and a sister, Margaret, were shopping in Philadelphia at the time of the crash. A neighbor stood by to notify them when they arrived home.
The pilot's sister spent the night at the hospital. She was recently graduated as a nurse from St. Joseph's Hospital in Philadelphia and is presently employed as a registered nurse at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital.
Neighbors Witness Crash
Jane Skare, 14, of 945 Fairview st., said she heard the plane's motor, ran out and looked up and saw the craft zoom across Fairview st. at house-top level. It then struck the power lines and crashed moments later.
Mrs. Helen Campbell, of 870 Fairview st., was in the backyard of her home while her daughter, Dolores, 4, was playing in front of the house when the plane came over. She said she saw it circle very low, ran through the house and grabbed her daughters off the porch as she saw a tremendous flash. Then, she said, power lines dropped to the street.
Both Mrs. Mary Mulbrier, of 869 Fairview st., and Mrs. Margaret Devlin, of 836 Sylvan st., whose homes are back to back, said they thought their houses had been struck when the power lines and the pole crossbeam were cut.