W.E. Eaton. 1934 accident

[RRK]

Recently I run into this picture on E-bay. Bought it thinking that it my be a unique one, and possibly historically important.

http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mdpzktyZ3L1rl0i52o1_500.jpg

From P. Schweizer book I found that while being on tow in his Franklin, Warren E. Eaton was hit in his eye by removable cockpit fairing, which come loose. He was incapacitated, released his safety belt and had fallen clear but failed to pull the parachute ring.
In the picture we see his glider fished out from Biscayne Bay, Florida. It looks like it is not very damaged. Could he survive if he not bailed out?

[[email protected]]

You bought a very important photo, at least to the small group of us interested in soaring history. There is another (newspaper) photo of the glider on the boat, but not as clear as yours.

Talk about coincidences! See the November issue of Soaring magazine, page 26, for my article on our recent restoration of G12185. We re-hung this glider at the National Soaring Museum just last week!

According to contemporary reports, the glider landed itself on a small island (!!!), so it was not retrieved from the Bay. Whether it would have landed itself so well, with an unconscious/incapacitated pilot, is doubtful. Eaton must have felt his injury ("severed right eye") meant his only chance for survival was to bail out and come down by parachute. Unfortunately, he lost consciousness almost immediately after leaving the ship. A photographer in a nearby airplane reported that "...the body fell like an inanimate object."

Please email me at jackwyman (the at sign) mindspring.com

Jack Wyman