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- New York, May 25 - Airplane pilots making flight in this
vicinity have asked the department of commerce to investigate a supposed
radio-ray device which they believe stops the motors of airplanes passing
over New York city.
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- The airplanes, flying over the central part of Manhattan,
have had mysterious troubles with their engines during the last few months.
As a result, belief is spreading in aeronautical circles here that some
short-wave experimenter has developed a "Z-ray" which interferes
with the workings of airplane motors at which it is aimed.
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- A peculiar thing about the occurrences is that the planes'
motors simply "go dead" without apparent cause, and when they
are examined later, it is seldom possible to determine what was wrong.
Twice, however, electrical parts have been found to be burned out, as
if by a heavy current of electricity.
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- Several times disasters have narrowly been avoided, as
the magnetism which stalls the engines does not pass off for some time,
and the planes must be brought to an emergency landing. When a plane is
flying at 5,000 feet or more over the city, it is possible to land at one
of several airports, but the planes that have been affected by the supposed
"Z-ray" are usually flying at lower altitudes.
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- The most recent occurrence of this nature was the near-disaster
which overtook the cabin monoplane piloted by Michael Stupelli, which was
forced to land with three passengers in the East river a few days ago when
its motor stopped from electrical trouble which has not yet been solved.
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- The pilot reported he was "almost in a straight
line with the top" of a mid-town skyscraper, where shortwave radio
tests are known to be u under way, when the motor gasped and died. From
that instant he was unable to get a spark out of his generator, but when
the plane was examined later the only trouble seemed to be that several
electrical parts were highly magnetized.
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- Radio experts here said that no experiments with "Z-ray"
were being made in Manhattan, so far as they knew. They pointed out,
however, reports from the continent of automobiles being mysteriously halted
by short-wave devices near the Italian border.
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- Department of commerce inspectors are expected to join
with officials of the federal communications commission in their investigation.
In the meantime major air lines have issued orders to their pilots to
obey strictly instructions against flying over Manhattan. (END)
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